IndividualAndBecomingWorld::d

T H E ! I N D I V I D U A L ! A N D ! T H E ! B E C O M I N G ! O F ! T H E !W O R L D !

By!Julius!Evola!

Translated!by!Cologero!Salvo!

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!!GORNAHOOR PRESS!

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Liber esse, scientiam acquirere, veritatem loquor!

!Copyright!!©2009!by!Gornahoor!Press!All!Rights!Reserved!!

Logo!and!motto!are!service!marks!and!trademarks!of!Gornahoor!Press.! !

The!Individual!and!the!Becoming!of!the!World! ! Julius!Evola!

Gornahoor!Press!(http://www.gornahoor.net)! Page!2!!

TABLE!OF!CONTENTS!Translator’s!Preface!........................................................................................................................................!3!

Philosophy!......................................................................................................................................................!4!

Three!Stages!of!Consciousness!...................................................................................................................!4!

Stage!One!...............................................................................................................................................!4!

Stage!Two!...............................................................................................................................................!4!

Stage!Three!.............................................................................................................................................!6!

Privation!.....................................................................................................................................................!8!

Further!Considerations!.............................................................................................................................!12!

Essence!and!Existence!..........................................................................................................................!12!

The!One!and!the!Many!.........................................................................................................................!14!

Conclusion!................................................................................................................................................!16!

Initiation!.......................................................................................................................................................!18!

Apollo!.......................................................................................................................................................!18!

Dionysus!...................................................................................................................................................!23!

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TRANSLATOR’S!PREFACE!“The! Individual! and! the! Becoming! of! the!World”,! originally! published! as! “L’Individuo! e! il! divenire! del!mondo”!in!1925,!was!based!on!two!lectures!presented!to!the!Independent!Theosophical!League!of!Rome,!and! subsequently!updated!by! the! author! in! 1973.! Evola! considered! this!work! to!be! a! synthesis!of!his!system!which!is!fully!developed!in!these!works:!“Essays!on!Magical!Idealism”,!“The!Theory!of!the!Absolute!Individual”,!and!“The!Yoga!of!Power”.!Now,!the!first!work!is!an!introduction,!the!second!is!a!rigorous!and!exhaustive! exposition,! and! the! third! is! its! development! as! praxis.! Evola! thus! connects! his! critical! and!theoretical!philosophy!with!doctrines!and! techniques!belonging! to! “traditional”!wisdom,!particularly! in!this!case,!Tantra.!

It! is! important! to!note! that,!as!Evola!wrote! in!his!autobiography,! it!was!not!philosophy! that! led!him! to!seek!out!Traditional!wisdom,!but!rather!the!opposite.!It!was!his!spiritual!practice!that!led!him!to!elaborate!a!suitable!philosophical!system.!So,!he!asserts,!metanoia!–!or!“change!in!polarity”!–!does!not!come!from!thought,!but!rather!from!the!deed,!which!then!becomes!a!philosophic!principle!and!not!its!conclusion.!

The!first! lecture!describes!the!growth!of!consciousness!through!three!stages:!from!naive!realism,!to!the!quest!for!certainty!in!science!and!religion,!finally!to!self"realisation!through!magical!idealism.!The!world,!then,! is!my!Will.!The! second! lecture!makes! a! clear!distinction!between! knowledge!which! leads! to! the!surpassing! of! philosophy! through! the! path! of! the! absolute! Individual! –! that! is! the! knowledge! of! the!“mystery”!schools,!in!particular,!the!Dionysian!initiation!–!and!the!knowledge!of!religions,!as!exemplified!in!Christianity.!The!former!is!the!way!of!the!warrior,!the!latter!of!mystical!asceticism.!

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[Note:!Chapter!and!section!headings!provided!by!translator.]!

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PHILOSOPHY!

THREE!STAGES!OF!CONSCIOUSNESS!Considering!the!process!through!which!the! individual!can!reach!a!perfect! fulfilment!of!himself,!

three!fundamental!stages!can!be!distinguished.!These!stages,!which!are!found!in!a!certain!way!reflected!both! in!the!history!of!thought!as!well!as! in!the!history!of!culture! in!general,!are!reconnected!to!distinct!forms!used!in!the!problem!of!certainty,!and!their!sense!is,!approximately,!the!following:!

STAGE!ONE!! In! the! first!period!we! can! say! that! the! “I”! still! lives!only! as! if! in! a!dream:! it! is!not! yet! a! self"consciousness,!nor!an!autonomous!principle!of!action:!immersed!in!an!immediate,!indistinct!coalescence!with!nature!and!the!world,!we!can!say!that!it!is!not!so!much!he!who!thinks,!speaks,!and!asserts!himself,!as!much!as!that!various!forces!and!impulses!think,!speak!and!assert!themselves!in!him.!He!therefore!is!only!a!type!of!medium,!a!passive!instrument!that!has!his!very!life!outside!himself,!and!he!experiences!everything!as!grace,!as!spontaneity,!as!the!immediate!self"manifestation!of!something!that!transcends!him.!

! It!is!clear!that!in!this!original!stage,!it!is!believed!that!the!problem!of!certainty!does!not!exist,!as!even!a!religion!does!not!exist! in!the!proper!sense:!since!both!the!problem!of!certainty!qua!problem,!as!well!as!religion!(religion!derives!from!“religare”,!that!is!“reunite”)!presuppose!a!state!of!separation!that!is!not!yet!present.!Instead,!the!individual!and!the!totality!are!one!and!same!thing,!the!“I”!with!the!not"I,!the!spirit!with!nature;!and!that!is!precisely!because!the!individual!as!properly!such!has!not!yet!been!born.!In!him!instead!the!same!universal!life!immediately!flows!and!resonates!and!he!is!lost!in!it,!fed!and!sustained!as!if!the!“I”!is!the!being!in!formation!in!the!mother’s!womb.!Hence!certainty!cannot!constitute!a!problem,!it!is!instead!a!matter!of!direct!experience,!it!is!a!“this”,!something!intuitively!evident,!revealing!itself!case!by!case!without!mediation!according!to!that! instant!confidence!and!wonderful!wisdom!whose!echo!we!still!feel!in!the!life!of!the!instincts.!

STAGE!TWO!! Following! this! stage,!whose!principle! is! spontaneity,! a! second!one! follows!–!or,!better! said,! a!second!one!may! follow,! since! the! life!of! the! spirit! is!essentially! that!of! freedom.! It!makes!no! sense! to!speak!of! a! transcendent! law! –!whether!natural,! rational,!or!moral! –!which!would!determine!how! the!stages!would!proceed!in!accordance!with!some!incontrovertible!sequence:!the!passage!from!one!stage!to!the!other!is!instead!unconditioned,!it!happens!if!it!happens,!its!direction!is!not!deducible!from!one!stage!to!another;! it! is!an!absolute!achievement,!an!achievement,! therefore,! for!which!one! cannot,!but!even!must!not,!ask!for!a!further!reason.!

! Now!in!this!second!stage,!following!the!“period!of!spontaneity”,!the!“I”!turns!toward!autonomy!and! individual!existence!–! that!consequently!happens!only! in!so! far!as! the!original!connection!with!the!whole!is!steadily!broken,!and!as!a!gradual!tearing!away!from!the!World!takes!place.!Consequently,!what!used! to!be! familiar! to! the! individual! is!made! alien! and! impenetrable,!what! intuitive! certainty!used! to!reveal! to!him!as! indisputable! fact! is!made!dubious!and!problematic.!Opposite! the!“I”,! the!non"I!arises;!opposite! man,! nature.! And! experience! is! dispersed! in! outward! appearance! and! particularity,! whose!elements!stand! in!a!contingent!relationship!to!the!“I”:! it! is!the!boundless!ocean!of!forms!and!beings,!of!generation!and!corruption,!of!becoming!and!transmuting:! it! is!the!madness!of!phenomena,!the!oblique!fluctuation!of!“things!that!are!and!that!are!not”.!The! individual! in!the! first!moment!of!his!birth!as!such!



awakens! to! that;!he! therefore! finds!himself! swept!along! in!an! incomprehensible!adventure,! consumed!moment!by!moment!by!various! flashes!of!phenomena!and!contradictory! impulses! in!which!he!endures!the!death!of!his!unity!and!self"certainty!while!his!essence!is!torn!to!pieces.!And!the!more!the!“I”!advances!in! its! individual!assertion,!the!stronger!the!antithesis!–!the!“other”,!the! irrational,!and!the!contingent!–rises!against!him.!

! It! is!therefore!natural!that!at!the!very!first!moment,!man,!since!nostalgia!and!the!feeling!of!the!primordial! state! of! union! still! resound! in! him,! was! led! to! consider! the! world! as! a! place! of! sorrow,!explicable!only!as! the!consequence!of!a!“fall”,!as! the!upheaval!of!a!primordial!“injustice”,!or!as! illusion!and!“ignorance”!(avidya)!–!in!each!case!as!a!non"value,!as!a!misadventure,!as!something!from!which!it!is!only!important!to!be!saved.!So!we!have!the!means!of!understanding!the!feeling!and!the!ideal!“locus”!of!the!pessimistic!and!ascetic!attitudes!characteristic!of! the!Upanishadic!and!Buddhist!Orient,! the!earliest!Greek!culture!and!even!primitive!Christianity.!Consequently,!since!the!contingent!and!phenomenal!mode!of!the!appearing!of!the!world!is!only!the!necessary!consequence!of!the!rising!of!the!“I”!to!an!autonomous!principle,!this!ascetic!direction!is!of!value!in!drawing!back!in!a!regressive!movement;!in!truth,!it!expresses!the! fear! and! the! contradiction! of! an! individuality! still! inadequate! for! its! own! affirmation.! Since! this!affirmation!in!every!case!has!taken!place,!the!result!cannot!be!the!restoration!of!the!primordial!state,!but!either! the! dissolution! in! nirvana! or! nirguna!brahman! –! that! is,! in! an! undifferentiated! principle! that!devours! every! concrete! reality! –! or! else! Eleatic! and! Stoic! dualism,! the! hardening! of!man! against! the!becoming!of!phenomena!whose!having"to"be!one!refuses!to!recognize!but!whose!being,!therefore,!cannot!avoid!undergoing!drastic!change.!

! A! second! reaction! to! such! a! state! of! things! is! typical! of! the! scientific" position,! in!which! the!attempt! is!made! to! encompass! the! chaos! of! phenomena! in! principles! of! order! and! uniform! laws,! by!means!of!the!discursive!faculty:!the!concept!on!one!hand,!the!mathematical!relation!on!the!other.!Man!tries! to! find! the! substitute! for! that!harmonious!unity!of! the!universal!and! the!particular! in!a! cognitive!system,! for! that! intrinsic! understanding! of! the! individual! in! the! whole,! from! which! he! benefited! as!immediate!life!in!his!pre"individual!stage;!so!that!the!reduction!of!particular!phenomenon!under!a!general!law!is!now!valid!for!him!as!the!criterion!of!certainty.!But!in!truth,!this!certainty!is!apparent!and!uncertain;!one!could!never! in! this!way!really! resolve! the!contingent!nature!of! the! relationship!according! to!which!things,!in!this!further!stage,!are!presented!to!the!“I”.!In!fact,!in!the!first!place,!isn’t!substituting!a!law!for!a!fact!perhaps! just! the!same!as!substituting!one!contingency! for!another?! In! the!second!place,!as!will!be!shortly! shown! in!a! little!more!detail,! the! concept! can!account! for!what! constitutes! the! “essence”!of!a!thing,!or!the!totality!of!the!characteristics!that!logically!define!it,!but!it!is!impotent!to!deduce!–!and!even!less!to!produce!–!its!“existence”,!the!naked!fact!of!its!“being!there”!(dasein)!as!a!real!thing.!That!can!be!illuminated!with!a!brief!reference!to!the!views!of!the! latest!physics,!where!a!truly!superb!effort!–!by!an!Einstein,!a!Weyl,!an!Eddington!–!was!made!toward!a!system!of!unification!and!comprehensive!deduction!of!the!multiplicity!of!phenomena.!Here!the!theory!can!deduce!all!the!electro"gravitational!phenomena!–!once! they!were!given! the!so"called!“curvature”!or!spatial!“contraction”!–! that!proceed! from! it,!yet! it! is!impotent!to!deduce!the!reason!for!the!!curvatures!themselves,!which!remain!a!brute!“given”,!in!the!face!of! which! one! must! halt,! since! it! must! simply! be! presupposed.! In! that! there! is! contingency! and! a!fundamental!obscurity,!at!bottom!a!thousand!questionable!points!are!removed,!so!that!to!put!them!back!in!their!place!would!require!a!thousand!times!more.!The!“I”!remains!facing!a!fact,!a!something!that!–!in!being!such,!as!it!could!also!have!been!something!else!without!its!reality!being!thus!instead!of!something!else!–!depends!on! it!or!can!be!penetrated!by! it,!and!cannot!support!real!certainty.!Therefore,!a!state!of!



doubt!and!scepticism! imposes! itself;!and!precisely!from!this!development!the!advance!of!the! individual!toward!complete!and!separate!self"assertion!is!conditional.!

! Such!a!development!is!connected!to!the!critical"investigation"around"the"problem"of"knowing.!In!fact,!once!the!“I”!is!constituted!as!principle!in!itself!and!a!separate!centre!of!self"reference,!the!very!fact!that! it! can! communicate!with! something! other! than! itself,! the! very! fact! that! it! can! in! general! know,!appears!as!a!singular!mystery.!And!since! it! is!evident! that,!by!positing! the!subject!on!one!side!and! the!object! on! the! other,! there! is! no! longer! any! way! of! understanding! how! their! conjunction,! in! which!knowledge!consists,! is!possible;!and!since!on!the!other!hand,!by!this!point!the!“I”!has!become!aware!of!itself!and!can!no!longer!return!to!the!state!of!naïve!acceptance,!of!compenetration!with!things!that!was!conditioned! precisely!by! its!not! yet! having! being! posited.!A! single! path! to! the!problem! of! knowledge!remains!open,!and!that!is:!to!deny!that!the!idea!of!a!reality!existing!in!itself!has!any!sense,!to!assert!that!the! substance! of! things! consists! simply! in! their! being! represented! or! thought! by! the! “I”,! to! mean!therefore!that!the!entire!world!system,!in!the!unlimited!richness!of!its!forms,!with!its!oceans,!its!suns!and!its!Milky!Ways,!is!nothing!but!a!phenomenon,!an!appearance!that!is!of!this!“I”!and!for!this!“I”,!outside!of!which!no!consistency!could!be!coherently!guaranteed! to! it.!Along!such!a!path!man! then!sees!all! those!supports!and!natural!proofs!on!which!he! initially!rested!progressively!fail!–!everything!now!becomes!for!him! doubtful,! problematic,! contingent.! All! that! he! knows! is! that! he! now! finds! himself! so! and! so!determined,! that! this! is! his! current! experience,! these! laws! and! categories! by!which! he! finds! himself!constrained!to!think!about! it.!But!regarding!the!foundation!of!such!a!determination,!of!similar! laws!and!similar!categories,!he!knows!nothing,!and!so!nothing!could!guarantee!for!him!that!things,!if!such!are!and!also!were!in!the!observed!cases,!cannot!change!all!at!once,!that!every!uniformity!and!every!constancy!is!not! abstract! and! uncertain,! that,! founded! on! a! radical! contingency,! this! system! of! phenomena! and!categories!is!only!a!transient!incident,!dispersed!in!an!irrepressible,!unpredictable!occurrence.!!

! If,!after!that,!the!individual!is!still!looking!for!a!still!point,!he!can!only!find!it!in!his!“I”.!The!world!is!a!representation,!all!well!and!good:!but!can!we!perhaps!speak!of!representation!without!at!the!same!time!presupposing!the!existence!of!a!“representing”,!of!a!subject!that!is!representing!it?!The!world!is!a!dream:!but!doesn’t!every!dream! imply!perhaps!a!dreamer?!One!can!call!the!whole!of!experience!false,! illusory,!nonexistent!–!but!whoever!experiences!and!asserts!this! falsity,! illusion,!nonexistence!cannot!himself!be!false,!illusory,!nonexistent.!Beyond!the!obliqueness!and!fluctuation!of!“things!that!are!and!are!not”,!there!is!then!one!single!certainty:!the!“I”.!Only!here!the! individual,!with!possession,!has!an!absolute!and!self"!evident! reality.!Of!all! the! rest!–!of! the!boundless!ocean!of!names,! forms!and!beings!–! there! is!no! real!certainty:!appearance,!contingency,!the!force!of!a!raw! irrational!“being!there”,!such!are! its!principles.!“I"alone"am"–" the" rest" is"my" representation”!–! thus,!with! that,! the!conclusion!of! the!second!stage!can!be!understood.!

STAGE!THREE!! Before!going! further,!we!have! to!point!out! the!necessity! that! this!critical!moment!of! the! ideal!history!of!the!individual!be!brought!down!to!and!experienced!in!its!depths.!Not!until!he!has!doubted!and!denied!everything,!not!until!he!has!cut!himself!off!from!everyone,!not!he!until!has!suffered!the!unreality!of!every!reality,!the!uncertainty!of!every!fact,!the!darkness!of!every!light;!not!until!he!has!destroyed!every!support!and!every!haven!and!has!realized!the!point!of!the!“great!alone”!–!not!until!the!individual!can!call!himself!completely!that,!not!until!he!is!an!autonomous!and!self"conscious!being.!It!is!this!negative!act,!this!absolute! tearing! of! oneself! away! from!whatever! used! to! provide! solidity! and! consistency! –! that! now!makes!him!be.!Besides,!according! the!powerful! saying!of! Stirner,! the! “I”! is!not!everything,! rather! that!



which!destroys!everything;!through!this!absolute!negativity!that!tragic"principle!dawns!in!man!which!–!as!was!clearly!seen!in!Buddhism!–!makes!him!superior!to!the!whole!of!nature!and!to!the!very!kingdom!of!the!“gods”.!

! We!can!specify!the!place!of!such!an!“I”!as!follows.!Every!experience!is!inseparably!accompanied!by!the!characteristic,!implicit!or!explicit,!of!being!one!of!my!experiences.!The!self!reference,!the!ahamkara!of!Vedic!metaphysics,!is!the!elementary!condition,!without!which!no!reality!is!conceivable,!since!the!only!reality! that! I! can! concretely! speak! about! is! that!which,! in!one!way!or! another,! resolves! in!one!of!my!experiences.!Now! it! is!possible!to!detach!this!principle!of!self"reference! from!the!particular!contents!of!experiences!in!order!to!fold!it!back!in!a!certain!way!onto!itself.!Thus!we!have:!“I”!equals!“I”,!that!is!a!bare!experience,!a!possession,!something!simple!and! ineffable.!This!bare!experience!presupposes,! in!fact!and!by! right,! some! other! experience! –! one! can! say! that! it! is! like! the! cloth! from!which! all! the! particular!experiences!are!then!cut!out:!here!we!have!that!“seeing!that!is!never!seen”,!that!“knowing!that!is!never!known”,! that! point! of! pure! centrality! that! the! Upanishads! talk! about,! and! in! respect! to!which! every!particular!experience,!phenomenon,!or! thought! is!a! “posterius”,! something! that!comes!afterwards!and!remains!at!the!periphery.!!

Keep! this! in!mind:! it! is!not! a!matter!of! a! “higher”! I,! or! a! “lower”! I,!or! an! “empirical”! I,! or! a!“transcendent”!I!–!mere!names!and!conceptual!abstractions!–!but!rather!of!my!I,!that!absolute!presence!that! I" am! in! the! depths! of! my! individual! being.! Now! that! such! an! “I”! is! something! unmultipliable,!something!that!is!“one!and!without!a!second”,!is!all!too!evident.!To!speak!of!other!“I”’s!from!this!level!is!in!fact!a!contradiction! in! terms.!The!other!“I”’s! in!so! far!as! they!are!“other”,!are!not!“I”,!but!rather!some!particular!contents!present! in!my!experience!–!therefore!of!objects,!of!the!“things!known”,!at!most!the!concept!of!a!knowing!person!and!a!subject,!not!the!subject!nor! the!knowing!person!which! it! is! in! itself!(that!is,!as!self"experience),!which,!as!such,!is!unique!and!incommunicable.!Particular!phenomena!in!this!great!phenomenon,!that! is!the!world!that!I!wake!up!to!as!an! individual;!the!“other!“I”’s”!take!part! in! its!contingency,!they!are!something!whose!principle!eludes!me,!of!which!I!have!no!real!certainty!(don’t!even!dreams!perhaps! show!me! the!appearance!of!other!beings! similar! to!me?!And! could!not! so"called! real!experience!be!a!dream!more!powerful!and!constantly!burned!in!me,!as!Cartesian!scepticism!puts!it,!from!some!spirit?),!that!fall!outside!of!that!centre!which,!alone,!can!constitute!for!me!a!terra!firma!in!the!great!sea! of! being.! This! is! a! point!which! it! is! particularly! necessary! to! draw! attention! to:!whoever,! either!because! of!moral! and! sentimental! concerns! –! that! is,! reconnected! to! the! preceding! stage! of! natural!evidence! –!or!because!of! a! lack!of! critical! reflexion,!does!not! succeed! in! extending!doubt! to! the! very!reality!of!other!subjects!and!so!conceiving!them!as!nothing!other!than!my!representations,!has!not!truly!brought! that!detachment,!which!we!wrote! about! previously,! to! its! limit,! and! so! has! not! yet!perfectly!realized! the!pure!essence!of! the! individual.!He! is!not!yet!ready! for! the!passage! to! the! third!stage!since!those!who!have!first!not!known!how!to!doubt!everything,!can!have!absolute!certainty!of!nothing.!

! Therefore,!moving!onto!the!third!stage,!let!us!immediately!say!that!in!it!there!is!an!overcoming!of! the!negative!point!of!view! connected! to! the!arising!of! individuality.!As!one,!whom!an!unfavourable!event!had!cast!onto!a!desert!island,!followed,!after!the!initial!shock,!immediately!by!the!will!to!live,!must!look!for!and!create!the!means!for!a!new!existence,!so!the!individual,!who!feels!himself!by!this!point!alone!with!himself!in!the!entire!extent!of!the!world,!can!be!brought!to!drag!out!from!his!own!interior!a!principle!that!can!secure!a!new!reality!beyond!the!order!of!appearance!and!mere!representation,! in!which!every!thing!up!to!now!had!to!be!submerged.!This!principle!is:!THE!POWER!OF!CONTROL.!The!“I”,!in!fact,!is!not!a!thing,!a!“given”,!a!“fact”,!but,!essentially,!a!deep!centre!of!will!and!power.!As!“I”,!Fichte!says,! it! is,!only!insofar!as!it!posits!itself!–!and!only!a!pure!self"positing!is,!to!tell!the!truth,!its!“being”.!



! Through!a! further!self"analysis,! the!nature!of! that!still!point,!which!was! realized! in! the!second!stage,!is!revealed!to!be!such.!Now!this!still!point!can!convey!its!own!substance!to!whatever!lacks!it,!and!that! obviously!when! the! various! arrangements! of! that! reality,! that! first! appeared! irrationally! as! raw!contingency,!without! participation! of! the!will! of! the! “I”! –! almost! as! in! a! dream! –! ! get! recovered! in!accordance!with!its!own!connection!to!an!unconditioned!affirmation!of!the!individual.!What!now!remains!is!to!proceed!to!a!definition!of!this!stage,!so!that!the!point!of!the!present!treatment!is!resolved,!which!is!the! relationship!of! the! individual! to! the!becoming!of! the!world.! In! the!meantime,!we! can! specify! the!criterion!of! certainty! that! is! called! for!at! this!point.! It! is!expressed!by! the!principle:! “There" is"absolute"certainty"–"and"postulatable"reality"–"only"of"those"things,"of"being"or"non!being,"of"being"such"or"being"otherwise"than"what"the"I"has"in"itself,"in"its"capacity"of"control,"or"the"beginning"or"cause;"of"other"things,"only" to" the"extent"of" that" in" them"which" satisfies" such"a" criterion”.!These! things,!which!depend! in! fact!entirely!on! the!power!of! the! I,! contribute! to! the! intrinsic! evidence! that! is! inherent! in! its!unvarnished!beginning.!

PRIVATION!! Therefore,!with! the! intention!of!developing! the!position!assumed!by! the! consciousness! in! the!third! stage,! we! will! consider! the! only! true! objection! encountered! by! absolute" idealism.! In! absolute!idealism! there! is! a!doctrine! that! seeks! to! transform! the!negative! task!of! criticism! and! scepticism! that!defines!the!second!stage!into!something!positive;!and!ceasing!to!understand!the!world!as!a!phenomenon,!as!simply!an!appearance,!(the!only!legitimate!conclusion!of!critical!investigation)!in!order!to!understand!it!instead!as!something!posited,!created!by!the!I.!Therefore!when!one!no!longer!speaks!of!representing!but!rather!of!positing!and!creating,!the!concept!of!a!free!will!comes!into!play,!and!thus!this!problem!arises:!I"can"certainly"reduce"the"world"to"my"representation,"but"at"what"point"can"I"reduce"it"also"to"my"will"and"my"freedom?!

! Here!it!is!necessary!to!make!a!fundamental!point,!which!is!to!understand!the!essential!difference!between!spontaneity!and!will.!There!is!spontaneity!where!the!possible!is!identical!to!the!real!or!to!put!it!better,! where! that! which! is! could" only! have! been! that,! the! act! has! the! form! of! an! inconvertible!compulsion,!of!a!brute!happening!and!outburst,!and!it!is!passive,!impotent!in!respect!to!itself.!In!the!will,!instead,!there!is!an!excess!of!the!possible!over!the!real,!that!is,!one!does!not!pass!from!the!possible!to!the!real!immediately,!but!a!point!of!autarchy,!of!“potestas”,!controls!the!act!as!the!final!unconditioned!reason!for! its!being!or!not!being,!of! its!being! this!way!or! its!being!otherwise,!as!an!act! that! is!only!one!of! the!possibilities,!or!rather,!compossibilities.!It!is!important!to!note!that!spontaneity,!as!well!as!will,!can!be!said!to!be!free:!however,!while! in!spontaneity!it! is!a!question!of!a!completely!negative!freedom,!that! is,!of!a!freedom! that! simply!means:! “not!determined! from! something!external”.! In! the!will! there! is!a!positive!freedom,! that! is,! a! freedoms! that!means! absolute! absence!of! conditions,!whether! they!be! internal!or!external,!and!therefore!the!contingency!or,!if!one!prefers,!the!arbitrariness!of!the!act.!

! Once! this! distinction! is! understood,! it! is! not! so! much! based! on! concepts! and! intellectual!subtleties,!but!rather!on!an!immediate!given!of!consciousness,!on!internal!evidence!that!one!either!does!or!does!not!have;!when!the!absolute! idealist,! in!the!face!of!the!system!of!reality,!asserts!he!was!the!“I”!who!posited!it,!it!is!evident!that!he!is!referring!not!to!will,!but!to!spontaneity.!He!is!referring!in!fact!to!that!activity!whereby! things! are!perceived!and!made! interior! to!our! I,! to! that! fundamental! “assent”! so!we!become!aware!of!them!–!an!assent!that!if!it!is!a!necessary!condition!for!every!reality,!insofar!as!the!reality!experienced!by!the!I!(and!we!cannot!coherently!speak!about!other!reality),!it!is!still!quite!far!from!being!a!sufficient!condition.! In!fact,! in!representing,!the!real! is!not!controlled!by!the!possible,!the! I! is!passive! in!



respect!to!its!own!act!–!not!as!it!asserts!things!but!rather!it!is!as!if!things!were!asserting!themselves!in!it.!As!passion!and!emotion,! the! representation! is! something!of!mine,! something! that! I!pull! from!my!own!interiority! (and!at!this!point!the! legitimacy!of!the!need!for! idealism!arrives,!the!rest! is!satisfied!up!until!Leibniz),!but!it!is!not!me,!since!I!cannot!give!it!freely!to!myself,!since!I!don’t!stand!in!relationship!of!master!to! its!determinations,!so!that!the!spectacle!of!reality! is!unfolding!before!me,!that! is,!this!reality,!not!the!reality!that!I!will.!Consequently:!to"the"extent"that"the"idealist"can"say"he"was"the"I"who"“posited”"nature,"he"reduces"the"I"to"nature,"that"is,"in"as"much"as"that"I,"which"is"freedom,"knows"nothing,"or,"better"said,"acts"as"if"it"knows"nothing,"and,"with"an"obvious"paralogism,"borrows"the"concept"of"the"I"from"that"of"the"principle"of"spontaneity.!I!can!say!it!was!I!who!posited!nature,!but!in!so!far!as!I!am!spontaneity,!not!as!I!am!properly!an!“I”,!that!is,!freedom!and!control.!!And!this!is!the!first!point.!

! The!realist,!referring!properly!to!the!point!of!real!individuality,!thus!puts!forward!an!appeal!that!is!entirely!legitimate.!He!puts!us!in!front!of!a!common!occurrence!of!experience,!a!storm!for!example,!and!asks! us! if!we! can! say! that! is!was!we!who! “posited! it”.!While! here! the! idealist!would! respond! in! the!affirmative!–!because,!as!was!said,!for!him!“to!posit”!means!simply!to!represent!with!“free!necessity”.!We!instead,!referring!to!a!positing!that!the!principle!of!control!and!unconditioned!freedom!requires,!would!respond:! “That,!actually,! is!not!posited!by! the! I.”!Then! the! realist! immediately! says:! “Since! that! is!not!posited!by!the!I,!there!must!be!‘something!else’!that!posits!it”!–!and!infers!a!real!or!existent!cause!in!itself!of!the!representations,!such!as!God,!matter,!the!noumenon,!etc.!Instead,!here!lies!the!error!and!the!point!on!which!we!are!permitted!to!demand!the!full!attention!of!the!reader.!

To" say" that" I," as" I," that" is," as" sufficient" and" free" principle," cannot" recognize" myself" as"unconditioned" cause" of" the" representations," does" not" at" all"mean" say" that" these" representations" are"caused"by"“something"else”"and"have"some"real"or"existent"things"in"themselves"as"substrate,"but"means"simply"that"I"am"insufficient"for"a"part"of"my"activity,"which"is"still"spontaneity,"that"such"a"part"is"not"yet"MORALIZED,"that"the"I"as"freedom"suffers"a"PRIVATION"in"it.""

Everything! I!cannot!act!on,!everything! that! resists!my!will,! is!only!a!privation!of! this!very!will,!something!negative,!not!a!being,!but!a!non"being.!Hence!the!realist!must!be!rejected!out!of!hand:!he! in!his!reference!to!“something!else”!–!God,!noumenon,!substance,!etc.!–!makes!a!being!out!of!non"being,!calls!real!something!that,!being!only!a!privation!of!my!power,!being!nothing!other!than!a!negation!and!a!void!in!the!unmultipliable!body!of!my!activity,!should!instead,!by!right,!be!called!unreal.!Thus!he!confirms!this!very!privation!""!as!he!eschews!it:!instead!of!the!act!that,!by!controlling!and!possessing!them,!annuls!things1!and!redeems!the!privation,!he!substitutes!the!act!that!recognizes!them!and!superstitiously!gives!them!being!and!an!autonomous!reality.!Characteristic!of!the!first!act,!he! instead!applies!the!criterion!of!certainty!of!the!third!stage:!that!is,!he!demands!that!the!free!and!naked!I!of!the!individual!can!genuinely!assert!the!principle!of!absolute!idealism,!and!however!say:!“In!truth,!I!myself!am!the!cause!and!the!master!of!this!world!in!which!I!live”.!But!when!will!it!be!possible!to!assert!that?!Obviously!when!the!individual!has!redeemed!the!dark!passion!of!the!world!in!a!body!of!freedom,!when!the!form!according!to!which!he!lives!has! let! the! representative! activity! (that! is,! that! activity! through!which! the! spectacle!of! the!universe! is!formed! in! him)! pass! from! spontaneity! –! from! the! harmony! of! the! possible! and! real! –! to! bare,!unconditioned!causality,!that!is!to:!powerful"will2.!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1!! Naturally:! it!annuls!them! in!so!far!as!they!are!something!else,! in!order!to!affirm!them! instead!as!acts!of!a!powerful!will.!2!! As! this! transformation,! which! we! claim! is! not! a! myth! but! a! real! possibility,! can! then! practically! be!completed,!is!a!problem!we!treated!–!at!least!within!the!limits!in!which!it!is!possible!to!treat!it!publicly!and!generally!–!



! Now!only! in!a!view! like!this!does!the!act!of!the! individual!have!a!cosmic!value,!whereas! in!the!view!of! realism! every! true!meaning! and!purpose! is! removed! from! activity! –! this! can!become! clear! to!everyone.!In!fact!activity!truly!has!meaning!and!value!only!where!it!exists!to!make!something!real,!that!is!not!yet! such.!This! case! is! verified!precisely!where! the! “other”!–!or! that!which! reflects! the! limit!of!my!freedom!–!is!understood!not!as!a!reality,!but!rather!as!a!negation!and!a!void:!then!the!world!appears!as!something! incomplete,!as! something! that!demands! its! integration! in! that!act!of! the! individual,! so! that!necessity! is!made! freedom,! to! that! development! of! self"assertion! so! that! the! potent! actuality! of! the!Unique!one!is!laid!out!and!re"asserted!inasmuch!as!it!is!its!privation.!If!instead!one!posits!that!the!“other”!as!such!–!that! is,!exactly!as!that!principle!which! limits!my!freedom!–! is!not!a!privation!and!a!non"being,!but!rather!a!positivity!and!a!reality!–!then!everything!is!already!perfect,!everything!is!already!“being”,!and!it!is!not!necessary!to!do!anything!else.!Every!purpose!and!every!value!of!activity!and!of!becoming,!every!responsibility!fails!–!since"the"voids"of"my"being"are"not"also"voids"of"being"in"general:"the"“other”,!with!the!reality!attributed!to!it,!fills!them!up.!Instead,!in!the!other!case!the!whole!world!appears!as!a!dark,!painful!claim!to!the! I!so!that!one!gives!these!to!oneself!depending!on!power!and,!thereby!enacts! it! into!being,!redeems!it!from!privation,!and!makes!it!real.!And!the!becoming!–!that!which!I!make!–!now!has!a!value,!a!cosmic!value.!

! Examining!more!closely!the!realist!position,!we!see!that!it!is!based!on!this!presupposition:!that!an!imperfect! activity,!a! self"limiting!activity! cannot!be! conceived,! and! that! as! soon! as! a! limited! activity! is!present,!one!must! immediately!think!of!something!that! is!the!cause!of!this! limitation.! In!fact!this! is!the!question! in! the! problem! of! knowledge:! in! things! there! is! an! aspect! through!which! they! indisputably!depend! on! the! activity! of! the! I,! an! aspect! that! we! refer! to! their! being! in! general! represented! or!experienced.!But!there! is!also!a!second!aspect,!which!represents!a!negative!side! in!the!activity!of!the! I,!referring!precisely!to!the!impotence!of!perceiving,!not!perceiving,!or!transmuting!perception!as!one!wills.!Now! what! does! realism! base! itself! on?! Precisely! on! this:! that! the! realist! feels! the! need! to! give! an!explanation!to!this!limitation,!that!he!does!not!want!to!admit!that!a!limited!activity,!that!is,!an!incomplete!activity,!is!what!comes!first,!and!therefore!feels!the!need!to!explain!the!limitation!by!something!“other”.!He! refers! therefore! to! a! reality! distinct! from! the! I! as! cause! of! the! representations.! But! such! a!presupposition!of!the!realist!is!what!is!most!debatable.!

! The! conception!we! repeat! is! this:!what! is! first!must! be! the! absolute! and! everything! that! is!particularity!and!finiteness!is!not!conceivable!other!than!as!a!negation!carried!out!by!part!of!“another”!in!the! fullness! of! this! pre"existent! absolute.! That! is,! we! examine! the! Platonic! and! Spinozist! position,!expressed!by!the!principle:!“Whatever!truly! is,! is!the!universal;!the!particular!does!not!exist!from! itself,!that!is:!in"that"which"it"is,"it"is"the"universal,"and"in"that"which"is"properly"particular,"it"is"not,"it"is"cold"and"uninspired"negation.”!Now!we!can!oppose!another!conception!to!this!one.!According!to! it!one!does!not!presuppose! the! absolute! in! the! finite! and! the! particular,! but! instead! one! admits! that!what" is" first" is"precisely" the" finite"and" the"particular,!meant!nevertheless!not!as! something!contradictory! in! itself,!but!rather!as!something!incomplete,!not!as!something!that!does!not!exist!from!itself,!but!rather!as!something!that!already! in!a!certain!measure!possesses!being!and! in!respect!to!which!the!absolute!would!not!be!its!negation,!but! its!development,! the!point!at!which! it!perfects! its!own!principle!according! to!a!continual!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!elsewhere,!and! so! it! is!not! found!here.!We! can!only! say! that! it! is!a! task!which!neither! culture,!nor!devotion,!nor!philosophy,! nor! art,! nor! morality,! nor! anything! other! than! what! men! call! “spirituality”,! can! make! the! least!contribution.!As!to!philosophy,! its! limit! is!magical" idealism,! in!which! it!ends!up!by!recognizing! its!own! insufficiency!and!postulating!the!realization!of!power!as!that!by!which!most!problems!can!find!their!only!absolute!solution.!



process! from! the! least! to! the! greatest,! from!potency! to! act,! from! a!more!deficient!degree! to! a!more!intensive!degree!of!actuality!and!being.!

! Now! in! such! a! conception!–!which!becomes!necessary!wherever!development,! synthesis,! and!becoming!are!not!empty!words!–!a!certain!degree!of!“privation”!is!inherent!in!what!comes!first!in!so!far!as!it!comes!first,!which!is"natural"to"it!and!in!no!way!demands!to!be!explained.!Its"explanation,"if"ever,"does"not"lie"behind!–!in!an!absolute!limited!by!the!power!of!an!“other”!–!but"rather"ahead!–!in!the!process!of!the!incomplete!that!becomes!complete,!of!the!power!that!burns!in!the!act,!so!that!there!is!nothing!really!to!explain,!but!to!act,!to!proceed!toward!a!stronger!assertion3.!!

! Therefore!the!presupposition!of!realism!can!be!disputed!and!the!Spinozian!concept!of!the!finite!as!negation!on!which!it!is!based!cannot!be!conceded.!Since!things!are,!in!as!much!as!they!are!first!of!all!represented,! so! that! a!degree!of! activity! and! therefore!of!positivity! is! already! implicit;! since! the! I! can!experience! itself!directly!as!an!energy,!as!a!principle!of!action,!as!something! that!does!not!demand! its!being! from!another;!since!by! right!an! inconvertible! limit!does!not!exist! for! the!development!of!power.!There! is!no!necessity!to!transcend,!with!regard!to!the!problem!of!knowing,!the!concept!of!an! imperfect!activity!(which!is!spontaneity!in!respect!to!the!will)!that!alone!is!imposed!by!a!positive!test,!and!to!explain!the!representation!with!the!realist!reference!to!an!“other”!that!causes! it!and!subtends! it.! In!doing!that!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!3!! It!is!important!to!note!the!relativity"of"the"concept"of"privation.!A!given!element!is!never!privation!in!itself,!but! always! in! relation! to! the! good!of! autarchy.! The! transit! to! that! good!makes!what!was!positive! as! spontaneity!something!negative!and!“in!potential”!in!respect!to!the!other!point.!So!for!the!man!who!does"not"want"to"move!from!the!logical!point!of!view!to!that!of!will,!the!concept!of!privation!is!not!intelligible!–!but!then!abstract!idealism!is!the!final!instance.!By!believing!that!the!present!doctrine!explaining!privation!is!surpassed!by!postulating!a!distinct!reality,!he! is!not!taking!a!step!forward!but!a!step!backward,!since!he! is!making!use!of!the! logical!category!of!causality!with!which!this!very!reality!becomes!conditioned,! logically!posited!by!the!I.!And!the!circle! is!closed!again!and!the!critical!level!remains!the!limit.!But!he!passes!beyond!through!an!absolute"positivism.!! What! is!the!difference!between!a!real!and!an! imaginary!thing?!Represented,!they!are!both!the!same;!but!beyond!that,!the!representing!activity!to!which!the!real!thing!corresponds!is!an!activity!in!respect!to!which!they!are!impotent.!There!are!elements!on!which!I!cannot!act.!This!is!all.!! We!do!not!resolve!the!problem!of! interpreting!this!non"power,!because!we!do!not!pose! it;!hence!we!are!accused!of!being! intellectualistic,!abstract,!and! irrelevant! in!respect!to!what! is!really! important!to!every!research!of!such!a!type!at"this"point.!This!is!a!fundamental!point:!we!claim!that!the!explanation!of!the!fact!that!one!is!impotent!in!certain!situations!by!making!recourse!to!an!“other”!–!something! in! itself,!God,!“Historicity!of!the!spirit”!and!similar!things!–! is!a!pseudo!explanation,!and!therefore!a!vicious!circle!for!this!reason:! in!us!the!concept!of!“other”!gets! its!meaning! and! its! foundation! from! the! concept! of! “non"power”,! which! is! what! comes! first,! and! out! of! ! which!objectivity,!thing!in!itself,!God,!etc.!are!only!so!many!symbols!and!intellectual!interpretations.!The!so!called!real!things!are!symbols!of!my!non"power,!of!my!privation.!The!reason!I!call!a!thing!real!comes!from!my!experience!of!a!privation!and! not" vice" versa.! Privation! explains! the! concept! of! objective! reality! but! not! objective! reality! the! concept! of!privation.!Does!a!declared!profession!of!agnosticism,!a!stop!before!the!bare!fact!of!non"power!with!renunciation!to!explain! it!as!what! is,!follow!from!that?!Not!at!all.!What!we!deny!(not!because!we!cannot!provide!one,!but!because!such!explanations!do"not"serve"us"and"are"not"enough"for"us)!is!the!intellectual!pseudo"explanation!that!leaves!facts!as!they!are,!that!does!not!transform!the!real!relationship!of!my!power!with!things.!(Does!one!seriously!believe!that!the!poverty!and!contingency!that!damn!finite!being!are!removed!from!anything!when!one!explains!them!with!matter!rather!than!with!God,!with!the!transcendental!I!rather!than!with!God,!and!so!on,!!in!similar!bad,!cheap!abstractions?)!The!explanation! that!magical" idealism!demands! is! completely!different:! it! is!an"explanation"by"means"of"action,!a!resolutive!explanation.! It! is!to!ex!plicate,!or!to!actuate,!to!make!perfect:!to!make!what! is! in!potential!pass! into!act,!what! is! imperfection! into! perfection,! what! is! insufficiency! into! sufficiency,! according! to! a! synthetic,! creative,!primordial!process.!This!is!the!only!true!explanation.!Everything"else"is"a"pastime.!! We!will!fiercely!combat!all!intellectual!and!philosophic!rhetoric!whereby!man!restrains!himself!to!talk!about!his!impotency!(which!we!mean!when!speaking!of!“truth”,!“objectivity”,!“rationality”,!etc.)!rather!than!to!finally!jump!to!his!feet,!to!grasp!himself!and,!burning!up!his!impotency,!to!make!himself!what!he!is!in!himself:!a"God,"a"builder"of"the"world.!!



one!would! have! no! so!much! an! intellectual! digression,! but! rather! the! lazy! sophism! of! those!who,! as!inadequate,!flee!from!the!act.!

! Hence!the!conception!that!appears!in!the!third!stage!of!the!development!of!the!individual!is,!as!a!whole,!the!following:!a!continuum!of!activity!that!has!as! limits!spontaneity!on!one!side!and!free!will!on!the!other.!Spontaneity!is!the!universal,!free!will!is!the!individual.!These!limits!are!related!to!each!other!as!potential! to! act:! everything! objective,! immediate,! and! necessary! in! experience,! is,! in! regards! to! the!position! of! the! individual,! the! non"being! inherent! in!what! is! in! potential! –! and! here! perhaps!we! can!understand!what! certain!mystics! alluded! to!when! they! spoke! of! the! “dark!passion!of! the!world”,! the!“unspeakable!suffering!of!existence”,!in!which!the!body!of!the!“celestial!man”!is!crucified.!

! Freedom!is!the!act!and!the!luminous!flame!of!such!a!darkness,!of!such!a!privation;!and!the!world!becomes,!it!is!made!real!in!conformity!with!absolute!reality!only!in!and!through!this!flame!–!that!is,!only!to!the!extent!that!the!individual,!asserting!himself!at!the!point!of!power!and!control,!consumes,!burns!up!his! former! nature! that! was! spontaneously! made.! Now,! a! fundamental! point:! only! in! the! “absolute!individual”,!only!in!“Autarchy”!does!the!world!become!real:!the!sufficiency!he!gives!himself,!gives!being,!solidity,!certainty!and!reason!to!nature!which,!before!him,!it!did!not!yet!posses,!but!demanded.!Hence,!to!seek!truth!and!certainty!in!nature!is!absurd:!since!nature!as!such!is!privation,!steresis![gr.!“privation”]!and!does!not!have!certainty!and!truth!in!itself,!but!in!the!individual;!therefore!as!much!as!it!has!of!it,!is!what!the!individual!himself!gives!it.!The"world"is,"only"if"he"is.!But!he!will!not!be!able!to!borrow!this!being!from!nothing,!that! is,! if!owned!by!another,! it!would!no! longer!be!able!to!be,!since!being! is!only!that!which! is!from!itself![kat’"autos].!If!therefore!he!does!not!make!himself!saviour!of!himself,!nothing!ever!will!be!able!to!save!him.!

! So! it! is! that!explanation!and!truth!do!not! lie!behind,!but!ahead!–!and!not!by!deducing,!but!by!passing! into!action.!All!of!nature,! together!with! conditioned!beings,! together!with!beings! that!go!back!from!one! to! the!other,! gravitates! toward! the! individual:! those!who!need!nothing,! those!who! support!themselves! on! nothing! –! it! is!what! all! beings! need,! on!which! all!beings! support! themselves! and!with!which,! to! the!extent! that! they!are,! they!are!one.!He!alone,!as! the!one!who!has! in!himself! the!proper!principle,!as!the!one!who!is!“entity!of!ownership”,!who!is!“persuaded”,!sustains!the!weight!of!the!world:!the!universal!process!hangs!on!him,!who!stands"firm,!and!in!him!it!finds!its!condition,!that!through!him!it!is!from!eternity,!and!in!him!it!has!its!final!destination.!That!is!why!only!at!the!point!at!which!the!individual!realises!himself!in!the!sudden!intuition!of!power!does!a!purpose,!a!reason!and!a!goal!in!nature!arise:!not"before;! it! is! he!who! gives! it! to! them.! It! demands! it! of! his! action.!And! yet! the! individual! has! a! single!imperative!by!this!point:!!

“Be,!make!yourself!GOD,!and!in!bringing!that!about,!SAVE!the!world”.!

FURTHER!CONSIDERATIONS!! To! illuminate! this!point,! let!us!connect! two! further! thoughts,! the! first,! the!problem!of!essence!and!existence,!and!the!other!that!of!the!one!and!the!many.!

ESSENCE!AND!EXISTENCE!!Things!are!essence!and!existence.!The!idea!of!one!hundred!Thalers!and!one!hundred!real!Thalers!

are!obviously!not!the!same!thing.!!Consequently,!from!a!logical!point!of!view,!as!Kant!has!shown,!there!is!nothing! included! in! the!hundred! real! Thalers!beyond! the! idea!of! the!hundred! Thalers.! It! follows! that,!



insofar! as! we! differentiate! between! them,! we! are! referring! to! something! irreducible! to! the! logical!element.! This! something! is! “existence”,! as! opposed! to! “essence”! (or! more! rigorously,! the! “esse"existentiae”!as!opposed!to!the!“esse"essentiae”).!!

And! now! to! a! second! point.! The! explicative! principle! of! the! essence,! of! the! “what! is”,! of! a!determinate!reality,! is!the!concept:!when!a!reality! is!genetically!constructed!by!means!of!the!concept! in!all! the! characteristics! that!determine! it,! the!explicative!principle! in! the!order!of!essence! is!exhausted.!Therefore,!what!an!object!is,!which!is!entirely!penetrated!by!being,!is!the!bare!fact!of!its!“being!there”!as!real!object,!and!that!constitutes!a!point!that!entirely!eludes!a!rational!explanation,!it!is!an!alogos!–!and!an!adequate!explicative!principle!for!it!is!not!the!concept,!but!rather!the!will!or,!even!better,!power.!In!fact!!the!pure!being!of!things!constitutes!for!me!a!mystery!up!to!the!point!where!it!has!the!character!of!a!brute!given,!of! something! that! is! there!without! the!participation!of!my!will,! imposing! itself,!on! the! contrary,!forcefully! against! it;! briefly:! as! a! privation! of!my! activity.!While! I! can! think! of! essence! and! therefore!“construct!it”,!existence!simply!suffers!it!–!and!this!constitutes!for!me!a!darkness.!If!you!imagine!instead!a!situation! in!which!you!can!connect!the!“being!here”!of!things!to!willing!them!unconditionally,!that! is,! in!which!my!will!had!value!as!creative!power:!then!their!existence!in!fact!beyond!their!concept!would!cease!to!be!a!mystery!to!me,!on!the!contrary,!it!would!be!for!me!perfectly!intelligible!–!it!would!be!explained.!Essence"and"existence"have"therefore"as"their"explicative"principles"the"ideal"construction"through"the"act"of"thought"and"real"causation"through"the"act"of"the"will"respectively.!And!this!is!the!second!point.!

The! third!point! is! the! following:!between! ideal! constructions!and! the! creative!will!–! therefore!between! essence! and! existence! –! there! is! not! a! difference!of! nature,! but! only! of! degree.! The! idea! is!already!a!degree!of!real!affirmation;!and!so"called!objective!reality!is!only!the!most!intense!and!complete!assertion!of!that!power!which,!in!elementary!form,!determines!the!thing!simply!thought!or!represented.!Reality!is!only!the!act!of!the!idea,!in!which!it!characterises!and!expresses!itself!entirely,!just!as!the!idea!is!only!a! reality! in"potential!or!a! reality! simply! sketched!out!or! in!a!nascent! state.!Between!one!and! the!other,!therefore,!there! is!not!a! jump,!there! is! instead!progressivity.!The!thought!of!one!hundred!Thalers!and!one!hundred! real!Thalers! are!obviously!not! the! same! thing!–!but!not!qualitatively!different! (as! is!assumed!by!those!who!believe!that!the!thought!is!the!impersonal!image!of!an!objective!reality!instead!of!a! power)! but! intensively! different,! in! the! sense! that! the! hundred! real! Thalers! are! the! deepest,!most!intense!power!related!precisely!to!the!magical!act,!of!the!assertion!corresponding!to!the!hundred!Thalers!in!thought.!

And!now!let!us!tie!this!result!to!what!was!previously!written.!There!is!an!existence!that!is!death,!privation,!unreality,!which!corresponds!to!representational!spontaneity,!the!residue!from!the!first!stage,!in!which!the!act!is!passive!in!respect!to!itself,!and!which!the!“I”!does!not!control!as!its!master.!There!is!no!true! certainty!of! this! existence:! since! it!does!not!depend!on!me! as!passion!or! emotion! and! is! a!pure!happening,!therefore!a!principle!of!radical!contingency!takes!it!back.!There!is!instead!a!second!existence,!which!is!what!a!will!elevating!itself!to!power!can!unconditionally!produce:!only!this!is!properly!existence,!absolute!reality,!and!only!from!it,!where!it!is!found!joined!only!with!itself!in!possession!and!control!–!the!“I”!can!have!real!certainty.!Between!these!types!of!existence!there!is!mental!activity!in!the!proper!sense.!In!other!words:!beyond!the! ideal! limit!of!the!reign!of!pure!necessity!–!of!nature!and!spontaneity!–!and!beyond!his!“privation”,! the! individual!enjoys! in! the! rational!or! ideal!order!of! the! first! level!of!sufficient!actuality!and!freedom.!This!level!proceeds!towards!its!perfection!in!development!in!accordance!to!which!power!reasserts!itself!in!continually!deeper!and!more!complex!levels!of!spontaneity!–!of!primitive!nature!or!the!universal!–!right!up!to!controlling!the!same! intensive! level!of!real!existence.!Then! from!the!dark!



passion! and! savage! desert! resulting! from! privation,! the! world! will! make! itself! the! very! act! of! the!individual,!and!in!that!he!will!be!redeemed!and!persuaded.!

We! can!note! in!passing!how! this! somewhat!paradoxical! corollary! follows! from! such!a!view!of!essence!and!existence:!error"is"only"a"weak"truth,"and"truth,"only"a"potential"error.!Let’s!explain!this!with!an!example.!Let’s!suppose!I!say!that!in!front!of!you!there!is!a!plant,!which!you!don’t!see.!This!would!be!a!false!assertion!–!for!me!as!well!as!for!you.!Now!what!does!that!falsity!consist! in?!In!that!the! idea!of!the!plant,!both!for!me!and!for!you,!does!not!correspond!to!any!existence;!or,!more!precisely,!that!that!will!which! corresponds! to! the! idea!of! the!plant,! is! irrelevant!and! impotent! in! respect! to! that!other!will! to!which! the! real! representation!of! the!environment!corresponds,! in!which!neither!you!nor! I! see!a!plant.!Nevertheless!the!agreement!between!these!two!wills!can!be!overturned.!First!of!all,!beyond!the!simple!and!pallid!mental! image!of!the!plant,!I!can!make! it!vivid!to!me! in!my! imagination;! in!the!second!place,!I!can! perceive! it! exteriorly! as! a! subjective! hallucination;! in! the! third! place! I! can! act! under! other!consciousnesses!in!a!way!the!even!they!perceive!it!–!such!as!under!a!collective!suggestion.!Now!the!same!power! can! be! continued! in! an! ever!more! intense! assertion! until! the! same! level! of! real! existence! is!reached,!and! then,! in!correspondence!with!a!magical!act! (because!a!magician!could!be!defined!as!one!who!knows!how! to! influence!nature! itself),!would!cease! to!be!“false”!and!“subjective”!by!making! itself!instead!“true”!and!“objective”.!What"was"error"or"illusion"becomes"accordingly"truth,"through"power.!That!is! valid! for! any! empirical,!moral,! or! rational! field!whatsoever,! although! of! the! thing! here! is! not! the!opportunity!to!give!a!further!demonstration.!

It! is! instead! interesting! to!mention! the! relationship!between!ontology!and!ethics.!Real,!as!was!said,!means!perfectly!willed.!Unreal!will!mean!therefore!privation!of!the!will,! imperfect!and! insufficient!will!–!and!this"is"evil,!just!as,!on!the!other!hand,!it!is!error.!Evil"and"error"are"one"and"the"same"thing"in"the"sense"that"the"common" foundation"to"both" is" impotence.!Those!doctrines!are! in!truth!of!a! fundamental!value,!currently!almost!forgotten,!that!placed!evil!in!matter,!meaning!by!this!that!residue!of!necessity!that!resists!the!idea!–!that!is,!freedom!–!and!limits!it.!Matter!–!the!Platonic!“other”!–!is!effectively!the!sign!of!imperfection!of!the!act!and,!in!as!much!existing,!is!connected!to!that!fundamental!“injustice”!about!which!Anaximander,! Parmenides,! and! Empedocles! speak! –! and! it! is,! essentially,! evil.! There! is! no! other! evil!beyond!necessity,!of!which!matter,!brute!existence,!is!the!evidence;!and!as!long!as!the!“I”!will!not!be!able!avoid! the! experience!of!matter! –!of! this! “other”! against! and!beyond!him! –!he!will!be! imperfect:! evil,"impure,"irrational.!

So!the!ethical!problem!and!the!metaphysical!problem!coincide:!the!measure!of!reality,!as!of!the!good,!of! the!certain!and!of! the! true,! is! the!perfection!of!actuality!or!power.!Per"virtutem"et"potentiam"idem" intelligo.! [Spinoza,! Ethics,! “by! virtue! and! power! I!mean! the! same! thing.”]! The! good! or! virtue! is!potency,!evil!impotence.!There!is!no!other!evil!except!insufficiency!and!weakness,!no!other!good!except!the!will!that!is!unconditionally!sufficient!in!itself,!and!therefore!free!to!be!and!do!what!it!wills.!The!rest!is!nonsense!and!can!be!left!to!women,!mystics,!and!poets.!That!today!the!meaning!of!the!moral!as!cosmic!worth!has!been! lost,! that!up! to!now,! it!has!been! reduced! to!nothing!more! than! the!corroboration!and!canonisation!of!deficiency,!weakness,!and!fear!–!of!the!plague!of!beautiful!sentiments,!of!noble!virtues,!of!holy!ideals!–!that!is,!of!the!fundamentally!immoral.!It!does!not!require!a!particular!demonstration!here.!

THE!ONE!AND!THE!MANY!



! There!is!something!to!say!about!the!one!and!the!many.!We!have!already!seen!that!the!passage!of!the! individual! consciousness! through! the! second! stage! entails! solipsism4,! that! is! the! impossibility! of!coherently!admitting!a!multiplicity!of!subjects!or!I’s!in!the!final!analysis.!That!immanent!certainty!–!as!we!said!–!which!alone!I!can!call!“I”!is!unmultipliable:!it!is!a!bare!experience!that!mediates!everything!and!is!mediated! by! nothing! –! and! as! to! the! “other”! I’s,! they! are! nothing! at! all,! they! are! nothing! that! I! can!experience!directly,!but!only!some!hypotheses!which! I!make!recourse!to! in!order!to!explain!to!myself!a!few! groups! of! representations! of!my! unique! unmultipliable! experience.! In! summary,! the! “other! I’s”,!insofar!as!they!are!“other“,!are!not!“I”!and!insofar!as!they!are!“I”,!they!are!not!others,!but!me!myself.!That!is!all!too!obvious.!What!can!be!conceded!is!that!my!“I”!cannot!abstract!from!this!experience,!in!which!I!am!constrained! to! think! certain! of! my! representations! as! subjects! or! centres! of! awareness:! but! this!interrelationship!between!me!and!the!others!could!not!be!the!ultimate!explanation.!As!the!Pythagoreans!already!noted,!every!number!is!such!in!virtue!of!the!One:!the!many,!without!a!principle!that!puts!them!in!relation,!would!not!even!be!many,!but! rather! so!many! separate!unities.!So! the! following!dilemma! can!always!be!posed!to!whoever!speaks!of!two!consciousnesses.!Either!these!consciousnesses!are!absolutely"two!–!and!then!one!could!not!pass!from!one!to!the!other!and!one!would!not!have!two!consciousnesses,!but! one! consciousness! plus! one! consciousness,! that! is,! from! the! immanent! point! of! view,! a! sole!consciousness! closed! in! itself.! Or! it! is! necessary! to! admit! a! higher! principle! in! which! the! two!consciousnesses! enter! into! relationship! –! and! then! are!no! longer! really! two! consciousnesses,!but! two!instances!included!within!this!higher!principle!as!a!member!of!the!unity!of!the!body.!

In!this!second!case!there! is!the!fundamental!question.!What!does!the!“I”!posit! itself!as,!that! is,!that!unmultipliable!experience! about!which!we! just! spoken?!As!one!of! the!elements!of! the!whole;!or!rather! as! that!which! includes! them! in! their!wholeness?! As! one! of! the! contents,! or! as! the! container?!Whoever!has!followed!us! in!what!was!said!on!the!criterion!of!certainty!characteristic!of!the!third!stage,!then!sees!clearly! that!here! the! response!must!be!unique:!“The" I" is" the"centre," that"which"encompasses"everything"and"that"is"encompassed"by"nothing.”!

Therefore,! this! is! necessary! to! understand:! this! “encompassment”! is! not! something! currently!perfect.!One!can!say!that!the!whole!of!experience!and!of!the!beings!is!the!“body”!of!the!I,!but!this!body!is!affected! by! privation,! it! is! not! resolved! in! harmonious!unity,! it! is! not! entirely! controlled,! unified,! and!transparent!in!the!principle!of!a!pure!possession.!In!fact,!various!beings!can!resist,!oppose!themselves!to!me,!and!act! independently!of!me.!Does!that!mean!perhaps!that!they!have!their!own!reality?!Not!at!all:!that!means!simply!that!they!correspond!to!a!privation!of!the!single!body!of!my!power!that!this!is!not!yet!perfect!power.!In!other!words:!beyond!that!“I”!that!I!experience!at!the!bottom!of!my!finite!being!–!and!the!I,!let!us!repeat,!is!neither!“superior”!nor!“inferior”,!neither!“empirical”!nor!“transcendental”,!but!only!my!I!–!there!are!no!others:!the!other!I’s!would!only!be!appearances!caused!precisely!by!the!finitude!of!my!being,!and!so!not!having!any!reality!in!themselves,!as!“others”.!

That! is,! there! would! no! longer! be! finite! consciousnesses! –! but! the! multitude! of! finite!consciousnesses! would! be! only! a! phenomenon! proceeding! from! the! finitude! of! my! own! unique!consciousness,!a!finitude!that,!as!was!shown,!must!be!explained!only!to"ergo,!that! is!not!by!means!of!a!theory,!but!by!means!of!that!act!in!which!it!passes!into!the!Absolute.!Therefore,!one!never!starts!from!the!“many”,! but! from! the! “One”! in! a! state! of! privation!which! is! correlative! to! the! appearance! of! others!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!4!! Recall!the!saying!of!Weininger,!that!“the!frightened!withdrawal!in!the!face!of!solipsism!and!the!impotence!of! giving! an! independent! value! to! being,! the! incapacity! for! opulent! solitude,! the! need! to! chase! the! crowd,!disappearing,!plunging!into!the!multitude.!It"is"shallowness.”!!



around!and!against!it,!in!order!to!move!to!the!“One”!in!a!state!of!fullness!and!sufficiency,!in!which!such!an!appearance!is!consummated.!For!this!reason,!if!by!God!or!universal!subject!one!means!the!point!in!which!the! totality! of! beings! is! controlled! in! a! perfect! unity,! one! can! say! only! that! the! individual! is! still! the!universal! subject.! For! on! the! other! hand! one! cannot! even! say! –!without! falling! into! intellectual! and!mythological!digressions!–!that!the!universal!subject!already"exists,!alongside!the!finite!individual.!

Now! we! have! the! fundamental! point:! between" the" person" and" universal" subject" there" is" a"relationship"not"of"coexistence"and"otherness,"rather"of"continuity"and"progressivity.!In!a!word:!the!person!is!the!universal!subject!in"potential,!the!universal!subject!the"act!of!the!person.!In!the!distance!between!me!and!others!–!in!the!fact!that!I!cannot!say!“I”!to!all!of!my!experience,!but!instead!suffer!the!forces!of!separation!and!opposition!–!we!said!that!this!only!expresses!the!character!of!imperfection!and!privation!inherent!naturally! in!that!which! is! in!potential.!Beyond!this!“in!potential”,!the! individual!must!(or!better!said,!can)!assert! the!act!–!and! then!–!by!virtue!of! this!act!and! in! this!act!–! the!subject!of!subjects,! the!monad!of!the!monads!–!God!–!will!exist:!not"before.!God"does"not"exist,"it"is"necessary"that"the"individual"create"Him"by"making"himself"divine.!

Therefore:!as! if!nature,!dilacerated!and!contingent!on!my! finite!experience,!were!an! inorganic!material!that!demands!that!my!power!resolve!it!in!unity,!in!the!harmonious!synthesis!of!a!perfect!life,!of!a!flamboyant!life!that!possesses!itself!entirely!in!the!actuality!in!which!it!controls!and!unifies!all!other!things!as!the!organic!principle!controls!and!unifies!the!various!parts!of!the!body.!Perhaps!Christ!alludes!to!that!when!in!the!“Apocryphal!Acts!of!John”!he!speaks!of!the!“gathering!of!the!limbs!of!the!ineffable!man”!of!the! “anthropos" arretos”! [ineffable! man].! “All! creatures,”! says! Meister! Eckhart,! “aim! for! supreme!perfection,! all! aim! for! essential! life:! everything! is! brought! into! my! understanding! to! become!understanding.!And!I!–!the!Only"one!–!raise!all!creatures!from!their!consciousness!to!mine,!because!in!it!they!become!one.! The!principle!of! cosmic! responsibility:! that! the! individual! knows! therefore!what!he!creates.”!!

CONCLUSION!! We!can!summarise!the!major!points!thus!far.!

! The!point!of!departure! is! the!universal,!which,! in! the!order!of! reality,!does!not! constitute! the!richest!degree!–!as!Platonism!would!have!it!–!but!instead!the!poorest!degree,!not!the!point!of!arrival,!the!terminus"ad"quem,!but!the!point!of!departure,!the!terminus"a"quo.!In!it!we!have!in!fact!the!simple!state!of!the!being!that!discovers!itself,!that!is!pure!spontaneity,!that!does!not!own!itself!but!simply!is.!Although!a!state!of!fullness!and!light!for!the!“I”!yet!to!be!born,!close!to!the!point!of!the!individual,!it!appears!instead!as! darkness! and! death:! so! in! a! first!moment,! it! is! dissolved! in! the!world! of! appearances! and!mere!representations;!in!a!second!moment!it!is!felt!as!infinite!passion,!as!the!dark!and!silent!pain!of!privation,!as!the! indescribable!crucifixion! in!the!world!of!necessity.!But,!born! from! it,!the! individual!now!assumes!this!death!with!joy;!he!is!adequate!to!it;!he!knows!that!only!his!own!supernatural!value!of!“being!made!of!possession”!is!its!cause;!he!recognizes!it!as!matter,!from!which!only!he!will!be!able!to!drag!the!splendour!of!a!life!to!an!absolute!reality.!And!then!the!darkness!gradually!is!illumined,!then!the!terrible!flower!of!the!absolute!Individual!rises!from!the!abyss!of!necessity.!He!raises!himself!slowly!into!the!starless!sky,!pulling!himself! from! the! fierce!heat!of!what!he!devours! in!his!power.!Things!and!beings!die! in!his!vertiginous!intensity!and!he!gradually,!irresistibly,!becomes!–!he,!tremendous!in!his!purity,!is!“Master!of!Yes!and!No”!and!Ruler!of!the!“three!worlds”.!And! in!him,!a!being!of!possession,!a!being!that!“burns!and!blazes”,!the!process!of!the!universe!will!have!its!consummation!or!final!perfection!with!his!act.!



! This!is,!in!a!nutshell,!the!sense!of!the!system!I!uphold,!in!which!on!the!one!hand!I!sought!to!fuse!the!gnoseological!problem!and!the!ontological!problem!with!the!ethical!problem!and!the!problem!of!self"realisation!or!magical!problem;!on!the!other!hand,!to!claim!the!value!of!the! individual!and!to!make!him!become!conscious!of!his!task!and!his!cosmic!dignity.!

! It!is!that!which!I!recognize!as!truth,!or,!better!said,!it!is!that!which!I!will!as!truth.!

! !



INITIATION!

APOLLO!We!introduce!the!initiation!into!Dionysus!as!the!conditio"sine"qua"non!for!anyone!who!wants!to!

disentangle! the!Wisdom!of! the!Mysteries! from!everything! in! it! that! is!not! it,!and! thereby!bring!out! its!deepest!meaning:! to!evade! that! task!and!dilly"dally! in! compromises! that!do!not!have!any!purpose! for!strong!and!resolute!spirits,!is,!more!or!less,!all!the!same.!

! We!don’t! find!an!adequate!resolution!even! in! those!occultisms,!as! it!were,! that! in!our!day!are!circulating! in!the!public!square!–!for!example,!the!anthroposophical!or!English!theosophical!types!–!but!even! in!true!traditions!and! in!persons!who!also!are!beginning!to!be!something.!We!believe!the!cause!of!that!leads!back!to!two!fundamental!points:!

a) the!intrusion!of!values!characteristic!of!the!religious!consciousness!b) the! imperfect! awareness! that! every! consistent! esoteric! aspiration! is! of! necessity! a!

magical!aspiration!

Let’s!explain!it!this!way.!

For!us,!the!religious!attitude!is!like!this:!

a) It!believes!that!the!world!is!fundamentally!right!from!a!principle!of!order,!harmony,!and!goodness,! and! that! everything! opposed! to! it! that! is! darkness,! irrationality,!indeterminateness,!evil,!either!is!illusion!or!something!that!must"not!be.!

b) Consequently,! it! pushes! such! a! principle! back! onto! something! “other! than!me”! –! to!something!transcendent.!We!say!“consequently”!since!my!actual!experience!is!showing!me!a!world!totally!different!from!one!that!is!ordered!and!rational,!I!am!not!entitled!to!also!admit!the!actual!existence,!alongside!it,!of!a!providential!and!rational!world,!unless!I!relate!it!to!something!that!transcends!me!and!to!believe!that!this!something!exists5.!

c) If!such!a!transcendent!principle!is!intended!to!be!the!source!of!every!reality,!it!must!be!said!that!the!individual!in!himself!is!nothing!and!can!be!nothing.!The!“I”!is!annulled!and!its!being!is!pushed!back!onto!the!other6.!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!5!! Therefore!the!necessity!of!inventing"God!is!avoided!in!one!of!the!following!ways:!!

a) Whoever!sees!that!the!optimistic!premise!is!not!justified!by!reality!and!yet!continues!to!conceive!it!as!“that!which!should!be”!(nihilistic!pessimism).!

b) Whoever,! in! the! name! of! the! reality! of! this! “having! to! be”! calls! “that! which! is”! unreal! (metaphysical!illusionism).!

c) Whoever,!recognizing!in!a!rational!and!ordered!world!a!moral!right!to!existence!and!recognizing!at!the!same!time! its!disagreement!with! the!actually!existent!world,!nevertheless! thinks! that!his!power!will"be"able! to!realise!it!(titanic!pessimism).!

d) Finally,!whoever!denies!the!optimistic!conception!both!by!right!and! in! fact,!both! in!“having!to!be”!and! in!“being”!and!is!able!to!find!in!chaos!and!in!the!irrational!the!principle!of!a!higher!life;!he!who!does"not"flee,!does!not!want!the!world!different!from!what!it!is,!but!wills!it!absolutely,!infinitely,!as!it!is.!Such!is,!let!us!say!it!at!this!point,!the!life!of!Dionysus.!(See!F.!Nietzsche:!Wille"zur"Macht,!1.I,!passim)!

!6!! The!“transcendental! I”,! the!“moral! law”,! the!“dialectic!or!historicity!of! the!Spirit”,!etc.!–!as!concepts! that!explain!(even!as!only!“dialectical!antithesis”,!etc.)!and,!therefore,!nullify,!rationalize!the!irrational,!are!so!many!names!



Now!what!can!the! initiate!have!to!do!with!a!similar!order!of!values?!That! is,!with!Christianity?!Since! in!Christianity! (insofar!as! it! is!defined!by! the!dogmas!of!providence,! theistic! transcendence,! and!grace)!there!is!truly!the!religion"type,!the!point!at!which!the!religious!consciousness!in!general!has!been!defined!in!depth.!

We!think!that!the!response!could!only!be!negative,!that!is:!between!the!wisdom!of!the!mysteries!–!of!Buddha,!Dionysus,!Mithras,!Hermes!–!and!the!Christian!religion!there!is!nothing!in!common,!the!two!directions!are!incommunicable,!perpendicular,!such!that!to!say!yes!to!one!entails!saying!no!to!the!other.!It!seems!to!us!that!at!the!inner!core!of!the!initiate,!he!has!discovered!an!absolute"positivism,!so!that:!

a) He!faces!up!to!reality,!without!veils,!in!its!tragic,!irrational,!unprovidential!nature;!b) He!rejects!the!belief!in!the!present!existence!of!an!optimistic!order,!and!the!necessity!of!

postulating! the! transcendental,! the! God! to! guarantee! it,! and! to! explain! how! it! can!coexist!with!the!order!of!existing!things!that!contradict!it;!

c) Thus! the! gulf! remains! between! titanic! pessimism! and! Dionysianism,! bridged! by!recognizing! or! not! recognizing! the!moral! right! to! existence! of! a! regulated,! just,! and!rational!world.!In!the!case!of!the!affirmative,!he!asserts!the!concept!of!the!individual!as!a!sufficient!power!in!himself,!capable!of!saving!not!only!himself!but!also!everything!that!he!is!connected!to!and!that,!at!bottom,!is!the!reflexion!of!what!he!concretely!is7.!

In!brief:! the!sense!of! the!primal! irrationality!of!existence!combined!with!“holding"steady”,!and!not!being!side!tracked!by!metaphysical!and!theological!“consolations”,!and!with!the!conviction!that!man!himself!has!a!real!possibility!of!ordering!and!controlling!this!chaos!and!thereby!bringing!about!a!cosmos!that! doesn’t! already! exist! but! demands! its! existence! from! him! –! such! must! be! the! fundamental!presupposition! of! the! “Royal!Way”! since! it! seeks! to! constitute! a! content! distinct! from! the! religious!attitude,!which!is!its!exact!antithesis.!Going!still!deeper,!one!senses!that!the!positive!choice!from!the!last!of! the!points! indicated!above! (that! is,! recognizing! that!what! is!worthy!of!being! is!an!ordered,! rational,!moral!totality)!passes!imperceptibly!into!the!negative!(i.e.,!not!to!recognize!that,!but!rather!its!opposite)!and!here"we"find"ourselves"facing"Dionysus.!Then!one!perceives!how!the!wisdom!of!the!mysteries!reaches!its! peak,! its! act! in! a!doctrine! that! the! short"sighted!will!perhaps!be! tempted! to! call! “profane”:! in! the!doctrine!of!Friedrich!Nietzsche.!

From!here!the!connexion!to!the!second!point.!What! is!the!peak!at!which! I!can!truly!call!myself!“I”,! truly! the!absolute!being!which!nothing!else! is!outside!of,!above,!or!against?! In!a!word:!what! is! the!concept! of! God! –! id," quo"majus" cogitari" non" potest?! [Anselm:! “That! which! nothing! greater! can! be!thought”].!Since! in!God,!men!never!have!depicted!anything!other!than!what!they! in!their!depth!desire,!while!fearing!to!become!conscious!of!it.!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!for!the!God!of!religion!and!of!slothful!optimism,!are!products!of!the!identical!tendency!to!reject,!to!“support!oneself!on!something”,!to!console!oneself.!!7!! That! does! not! progress! –! in! the! initiate! –! from! a! theoretical! atheism,! but! from! a! positivism,! from! the!assertion!that! if!God! is!“that!which! is!from!himself”,!there! is!only!one!way!of!proving!God,!which! is:!Make"yourself"God.!Therefore!discourses!on!the!existence!or!not!of!the!absolute!from!the!level!of!a!non"absolute!life,!do!not!matter!and!do!not!conclude!anything.!What!is!important!instead!is!to"go"forward,!to!realise!oneself!and,!therefore,!only!to!postulate!the!possibility!of!that.!Cf.!Our!essay!on!“Oriente,!Occidente!e!il!teoria!della!conoscenza!seconda”!in!Ultra,!n.!4,!1925,!par.!10.!



Here!we!present,!with!a!new!antitheses,! the!possibility!of!a! further!distinction!of! the! initiatic!requirement! from! everything! that! is! not! it.! There! is! the! one! who,! in! the! bosom! of! those! currents,!conceives!God!as! the!one! in!which!possibility!and!reality,! liberty!and! law,!act!and! fact!are!one!and!the!same! thing! (“Ego!sum!qui!sum”,!Ex.!3:14).!Now!we!say! that! this! is!not!at!all! the!highest!point,!not! the!terminus"ad"quem!but!the!terminus"a"quo.!In!fact!beyond!the!one!who!simply!is,!there!is!the!one!who!is!master!and!cause!of!being,!who,!free!in!respect!to!it,!is!able!to!be!or!not!be,!to!be!one!thing!or!another!arbitrarily,!is!not!the!possibility!identical!to!reality,!but!the!possibility!that!exceeds!and!controls!reality,!the!one!who,!against!the!universe,!gathered! in!the!totality!of! its!values!and! its! laws!outside!of!all!space!and!time,!blazingly,! in! the! simultaneity!of!an!eternal!act,!also! could! say:! “I"am"not" this," this" is"not"me," the"infinite"power"of"which"it"is"only"a"contingent"creature”.!

To!understand! that,!means! likewise! to!understand! the! identity"of"God"with"absolute" freedom,!and! therefore! his! superiority! and! indifference! in! respect! to! any! law! or! value! whatsoever.! Here! the!obstacle!is!the!confusion!between!positive!freedom!and!negative!freedom.!It!is!not!that!a!law!ceases!to!be!law!and! is!transformed! into!freedom!because! it! is!“interior”!(ideal,!moral,!metaphysical)!–! if!anything,! it!expresses!a!deeper!necessity.!

And!yet!it!is!one!thing!not!to!have!exterior!conditions,!not!to!be!determined!by!another,!but!it!is!another!not!to!have!conditions!of!any!kind,!either!in!others!or!in!oneself.!It!is!only!in!the!second!case!that!freedom!must!be!attributed,!since!we!do!not!want!to!reduce!it!to!an!empty!sound;!everyone!can!see!it!for!himself,!otherwise!even!a!plant!could!be!said!to!be!free,!since! its!own! law!of!growth! is!not!outside,!but!within! itself,!a! law!that,!however,! is! incapable!of!breaking!or!transmuting,!and! in!the! face!of!which!the!plant! is! therefore!passive.! This! is!why! it! is! said! that! the! ens" cuius" essential" est" existential! [“the!being!whose!essence!is!existence”],!the!Spinozist,!Thomist,!and!Hebrew!“causa"sui”![“self"caused”],!represents!not!the!point!of!arrival!but!the!point!of!departure,!the!raw!material!of!the!Work.!As!“that!which!can!only!be!what! it! is”,! it! is!not!sufficient!being!(the!true!causa"sui),!but!passive!and! impotent!being.!And!such!a!divinity!could!be!attributed!already! to!any! intelligent!being!capable!of! raising!himself!up! to! the!critical!consciousness!characteristic!of!modern!idealism,!since!from!one!such!doctrine,!one!knows!that!things!are!my!representation!of!things,!and!therefore!that!if!I!am!content!with!a!“positing”!that,!similar!to!the!action!of! a! plant’s! growth! and! to! the! shattering! of! any! “spontaneity”,! does! not! have! a! freedom! that!unconditionally! controls! reality,!with!my! representational!power,! that!has!precisely! such! a! form,! I! can!already!say!I!am!the!creator!of!the!universe.8!

Finally:!the!real!surpassing!of!the!order!of!“nature”! is!only! in!the!one!who! is! identical!not!with!things,!nor! laws,!nor! values!and!not!even!with!himself!but! control!and! freedom!with! respect! to!all!of!those:!the!precipice!of! infinite!and!uncontrolled!potestas.!This!arbitraristic!concept!of!God! joined!to!the!concept!of!God!being!only!the!hypothesis!of!the!object!of!our!will,!defines!the!sense!of!every!true!initiatic!realization!as!necessarily!magical.!Presupposing!the!immanent!possibility,!for!man,!of!a!self"realization!in!the!absolute!(this!is!the!fundamental!character!distinguishing!it!from!the!dualism!and!the!creaturalism!of!the!religious!consciousness,!for!which!there!is!instead!an!irreducible!otherness!between!God!and!the!“I”),!it!follows!from!it!that!not!one!state!of!union,!of!knowledge,!of!identification!or!love!that!is!meant,!but!an!eradicating,! an! infringing,! a! burning! in! one’s! own! interiority! every! necessity! of! law,! form,! or! value,!whatever!it!may!be:!“human”!or!“divine”,!“moral”!or!“rational”,!“material”!or!“spiritual”!–!and!therefore!a!realising!of!the!absolute"agility"or"transience!of!the!one!who! is!everything!only! is!as!much!as!he!can!or!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!8!! For!clarification!and!deepening!of!this!point,!see!“Essays!on!Magical!Idealism”!(J.!Evola).!



may!do!everything,!is!what!must!command!the!life!of!whoever!tends!indeed!to!complete!himself!beyond!the!state!of!finite!and!dependent!being9.!This!is!the!central!point!for!the!understanding!of!Dionysus.!

And!now!we!can!take!up!the!ancient!myth!again.!

Vibrating!and!resonating!with!the!universal! light,! in!the!wonderful! innocence!of!Eden,!man!was!blessed!and! immortal.!The!“tree!of! life”!bloomed!within!him!and!he!himself!was!this! luminous! life.!But!here! arises! a!new!unheard! theme:! the!will! to!domination! in! life,! the! surpassing!of!being! through! the!power!of!being!and!not!being,!of!Yes!and!No.!Thus!the!“tree!of!good!and!evil”.!Through!it!man!is!pulled!away! from! the! “tree!of! life”,! and!goes"beyond"God.!The!moment!of! the! fall!of! an!entire!world! in! the!flashing!of!the!highest!value!that!opens!up!the!realm!of!him!who!–!according!to!a!Hermetic!saying!–! is!superior!to!the!gods!themselves!in!as!much!as!with!the!immortal!nature,!to!which!they!are!constrained,!he!holds!even!mortal!nature!within!his!power,!with!the! infinite!as!well!as!the!finite,!with!affirmation!as!well!as!negation10,!and!yet!it!is!Spirit,!Autarchy.!

But!man!was!not!sufficient!to!this!event:!gripped!by!dread,!by!which!he!was!overwhelmed!and!broken.!Like! the! lamp!under!a!very! intense!brightness!–! it! is! said! in!a!Kabbalistic! text!–! like! the!circuit!whacked!by!too!high!a!potential,!their!essences!deteriorated,!they!came!up!short!(committed!an!offense):!Here! is!the!“guilt”!and!the!“fall”,!the!malum"metaphisicum.!Then,!enchained!by!this!dread,!the!spiritual!powers! that! should! have! been! his! servants! immediately! plummeted! and! froze! in! a! form! of! fated,!autonomous,!objective!existences.!In"pain,!rendered!external,!fleeing!from!itself,!the!power!made!out!of!itself!the!physical!world,!the!identical!other;!freedom!–!the!vertiginous!peak!that!would!have!restored!the!glory!of!supra"divine!living!–!made!itself!contingency!and!the!indomitable!madness!of!phenomena!among!which!man!wanders,!an!anxious!and!pitiful!shadow!of!himself.!Such!a!curse!cast!by!the!slain!God!against!the!one!who!was!incapable!of!assuming!his!legacy.!

Apollo!develops!this!failing,!this!offending!to!absolute!power.!In!its!elementary!function!it!is!the!will! that!empties! itself!of! itself!and,!exteriorising! itself,! lives!no! longer!as!will,!but! rather!as!eye!and!as!form! –! as! vision,! representation,! knowledge.! It! is! precisely! the! demiurge! of! the! objective!world,! the!foundation"of"the"category"of"space.!Space,!as!the!pure!form!of!“being!outside”,!as!that!so!that!things!are!killed!to!the!will!and!experienced!in!the!form!of!images!and!pictures,!it!is!the"primordial"objectivation"of"fear,!of!the!degeneration!of!will:!the!vision!of!a!thing! is!the!fear!and!suffering!through!a!thing.!And!the!“multum”! and! the! indefinite!divisibility! characteristic!of! spatial! forms! reconfirm! its!meaning,! reflecting!exactly!the!neglect!of!the!tension,!the!self"corruption,!and!the!self"dispersion!of!the!unity!of!the!act11.!

But!as!the!eye!has!no!consciousness!of!itself!insofar!as!it!sees,!so!the!being,!made!objective!and!exterior!to! itself!by!the!Apollonian!function!of!space,! is!essentially!dependent,!tied:! it! is!a!“being!that! is!supported”,! it! is!a!being!that!pulls!from!others! is!own!confirmation.!This!need!for!support!generate!the!category"of"the"limit:!the!tangibility,!solidity,!consistency!(Dingheit,!“thingness”)!of!material!things!is!their!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!9!! In! some! Indian! traditions! it! is! explicitly! said! that! attainment! (brahmajnana)! implies! the! “power! to! do!everything!one!wants”! (svechchhachara).! In! fact,!what! could!prevent! the!one!who!no! longer! has! anything! above!himself,!which! is! absolute! nakedness,! to! do! and! be!what! he!wants?! Laws,! says! Novalis,! are! only! the! necessary!consequences!of!an!unfinished!essence.!10!! One!may!remember!the!passage!of!the!Majhimanikaya!(V,!49)! in!which!shows!the!Buddha!reasserting!his!superiority!over!Brahma,!the!god!of!being,!with!his!power!of!disappearing.!11!! See!the!theory!of!Bergson!(Creative"Evolution)!that!explains!space!exactly!as!the!breaking"up"of"a"gesture,!with! a! process! inverse! to! that!whereby!multiple! elements! in! an! impulse! are! gathered! and! fused! together! in! a!qualitative!simplicity.!



incorporation,!almost!the!very!syncope!of!fear!that!stops!and!suspends!the!deficient!being!at!the!edge!of!the!precipice!of!Dionysian!power12.!One!can!call!it!therefore!the!“fact”!of!this!fear,!of!which!space!is!the!“act”.!As!the!particular!case!of!the!“limit”!we!have!the!law.!While!the!man!who!is!from!himself!has!no!fear!of!the!infinite,!of!chaos,!of!the!Apeiron,!and!on!the!contrary!lives!his!deepest!nature!of!a!“being!made!by!freedom”,!the!one!who!commits!an!offense!has!horror!of!the!infinite,!flees!from!it!and!seeks!in!law,!in!the!constancy!of!sequences,! in!the!predictable,!and! in!the!orderly,!a!surrogate!of!that!certainty!and!of!that!possession!into!which!it!has!decayed.!Positive!science!and!morals!are!typical!products!of!this!direction.!

The!third!creature!of!Apollo!is!purpose.!For!God!a!goal!cannot!have!any!meaning,!since!outside!of!himself!there!is!nothing!–!not!something!good,!true,!rational,!pleasant!or!just!–!from!which!to!pull!norms!or!to!be!moved,!but!the!good,!the!true,!the!rational,!the!pleasurable,!the!just!are!identified!with!what!he!wills,! simply! in! as!much! as! he!wills! it.!Of! his! assertion! the! “sufficient! reason”! is! the! assertion! itself,!conceiving!itself!from!Himself,!without!any!support.!

Instead!beings!exterior! to!himself!need,! in!order! to! act,!a! correlation,!a!motive! for!action!or,!better!said,!the!illusion!of!a!motive!for!action.!In!fact!the!“I”!does!not!will!a!thing!because!he!finds!it,!for!example,!just!or!rational,!but!finds!it!just!and!rational!simply!because!he!wills!it;!but!he!fears!descending!to!the!depths!in!which!the!will!nakedly!asserts!itself.!And!it!is!here!that!Apollonian!prudence!protects!him!from!the!vertigo!of!something!that!can!happen!without!cause!or!goal,!that!is,!only!through!itself,!in!a!pure!sudden!inspiration!and!according!to!the!same!act,!it!released!the!will!in!a!picture,!it!now!makes!appear,!through!the!categories!of!“causality”!and!“sufficient!reason”,!the!deep!assertions!of!the!“I”!operating!on!goals,!practical!utility,!ideal!and!moral!motives!that!justify!them!and!on!which!they!support!themselves.!

So!the!whole!life!of!men!takes!the!direction!of!a!flight!from!the!centre,!of!a!will!to!dull!the!senses!and!to!deny!the!fire!that!burns! in!them!and!which!they!don’t!know!how!to!endure.!Cut!off!from!being,!they! speak,! agitate! each! other,! look! for! each! other,! love! each! other! in! the! reciprocal! appeal! for!confirmation.! They! desperately! multiply! illusions! and! so! erect! a! great! pyramid! of! idols:! it! is! the!establishment!of!societies,!of!moralities,!of!idealities,!of!metaphysical!ends,!of!the!kingdom!of!the!gods:!the! appearance! of! reason! to!make! up! for! the!deficiencies! of! the! central! reason,! of! the! autotelos13!to!which! man! is! dead,! “bright! spots! for! the! aid! of! the! eye! offended! by! having! gazed! at! the! horrible!darkness”14.!

! Now!the!“other”!–!the!object,!the!cause,!the!motive!–!not!existing!in!itself,!being!only!a!symbolic!appearance!of!the!will’s!failing!itself,!in!the!act!in!which!the!will!demands!from!the!other!its!confirmation,!in!reality!succeeds!only! in!confirming! its!own!deficiency15.!So! it!goes,!similar!to!the!man!who!chases!his!own!shadow,!eternally!thirsty!and!eternally!disappointed,!creating!and!devouring!forms!that!“are!and!are!not”;!so!the!“solidity”!of!things,!the!Apollonian!limit!is!ambiguous:!it!fails!in!the!taking!and!bringing!back!periodically!to!the!other!that!point!of!consistency!that!seemed!to!guarantee!and!with!which! it!flattered!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!12!! Here!one!can!take!back!and!pull!the!deepest!sense!of!the!patristic!doctrine!that!the!material!vehicle!was!created! ex"nihilo! at! the!moment! of! the! “fall”! in! order! to! prevent! the! further! precipitation! of! the! soul.! See,! for!example,!Origen,!De"Principiis,!I,!7,!5.!Apollo!is!such!a!prudent!God.!Again!–!one!thinks!of!a!paralysis!following!a!scare:!it!is!like!a!getting!out!of!it,!a!throwing!oneself!back!through!that!which!was!controlled!and!comprised!organically!as!a!living!and!fervent!body,!one!makes!a!dead,!rigid,!and!foreign!thing.!The!objective!world!is!our!paralyzed!“great!body”!–!frozen!and!fixed!by!the!category!of!the!limit!through!fear.!13!! A!purpose!that!lies!in!the!activity!itself.![tr]!14!! The!expression!is!from!Nietzsche!(The"Birth"of"Tragedy),!referring!to!the!sense!of!the!Olympic!gods.!15!! See! J.! Evola:!Della" purità" come" valore"metafisico! (On" purity" as"metaphysical" value),! ed.!Bilychnis,!Rome!1925,!pp!4"5.!



the!desire.!From!which,!beyond!space,! the!category"of" time,! the! law!of!a!becoming! in!generations!and!depravities!–!indefinitely,!that!for!only!an!instant!of!stopping,!for!only!an!instant!that!does!not!act,!does!not!speak,!does!not!desire,!man!would!hear!everything!collapse!and!would!fall!smitten!by!the!awful!flame!of!the!central!fire.!

! So!that!his!security!among!things,!forms,!webs!of!idols!and!enthusiasms,!remains!as!fearful!and!spectral!as!that!of!the!sleepwalker!who!approaches!the!edge!of!an!abyss16.!

DIONYSUS!! Thus,! this! world! cannot! be! the! last! resort.! Not! having! in! fact! roots! in! the! other! –! in! a!transcendent!end!–!although! in!the!“I”,!being!only!the!“I”!responsible!for! it!and!holding!within! itself!the!causes!of!it,!has!an!immanent!possibility!of!working!out!its!resolution.!“In!this!body,!eight!hands!tall”,!says!the!Buddha,!“is!contained!the!world,!the!origin!of!the!world,!the! liberation!from!the!world,!and!the! life!that!leads!to!the!liberation!from!the!world.”!So,!close!to!the!“waters!flowing!below”,!to!the!vast!lineage!of!the!beings!that!“come”,!creating!gods,!faiths,!passions,!goodness,!and!cruelty,!in!order!to!daze!themselves!and!hide!from!themselves!the!radical!contradiction!that!consumes!them,!there!was!and!there!is!the!one!the!Upanishadic!“not!this”!has!elected!to!other!blood!and!other!nobility.!They,!beyond!everything!which!is!of! value! or! disvalue! for!men,! with! subtle,! inflexible,! identical! art! turn! to! the! “Great!Work”:! to! the!construction!of!the!“second!Tree!of!Life”17,!to!the!redemption!from!the!“fall”!by!means!of!a!will!sufficient!to!its!own!act,!that!is,!a!will!that!wills!this!fall!down!to!the!bottom!without!dread!and!without!suffering.!The!Wisdom!of!the!Mysteries,!the!great!traditions!of!Hermetic!and!magic!sciences,!proceeded!from!them.!And,!from!them,!the!God!is!Dionysus.!

! To!dare!to!tear!away!the!veils!with!which!Apollo!hid!primordial!reality,!to!dare!to!transcend!form!in!order!to!put!oneself! in!contact!with!the!primordial!“horror”!of!a!world! in!which!good!and!evil,!divine!and!human,!rational!and! irrational,! just!and!unjust!no! longer!have!any!sense,!being!only!power,!naked,!free,!fiery!power;!to!dare!that,!and!not!to!be!swept!away!from!this!bottomless!precipice,!but!to!be!able!to!do! it,! to! control! in!oneself!and,!not! surpassed!but! surpassing,! to! realize! the! “wild!pleasure!of!existing!tragically”!–!such!is!the!test!of!Dionysus,!!from!which!every!will!that!truly!wants!to!escape!from!the!“God!of!the!Earth”!must!have!his!consecration.!

! To!know!how!to!bring!to!the!peak!everything! from!which!the!primordial!dread! is!exasperated,!everything!that!our!natural!and! instinctive!being!desperately!does!not!want;!to!know!how!to!break!the!limit!and!dig!up!ever!more!deeply,!no!matter!where,!the!feeling!of!the!vertiginous!abyss!–!and!to!consist!in!the!transition,!to!subsist!where!the!others!would!fall!thunderstruck!“for!having!gazed!upon!God”18,!this!is!the!method.!

! And!here,!there! is! just!one!obstacle:!fear19.!Overcome! it,!Apollo! is!defeated.!Then,! in!an! instant!without!time,!like!frozen!crystals!put!in!contact!with!blocks!of!incandescent!metal,!the!danger!of!forms,!of!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!16!! See!C.!Michelstaedter,!Persuasion"and"Rhetoric,!part! II!and!passim.!Also,!F.!Dostoievsky,!The"Underground"Man,!and!N.!Moscardelli,!Vita"vivente,!passim!and!c.!X.!17!! See!C.!della!Riviera,!Il"mondo"magico"de"gli"Heroi,!2,!Milano,!1605,!pp!4"5,!149!(about!the!identification!of!magic!to!the!“second!wood!of!life.”)!18!! The! student! of! esoteric! science! here! can! refer! to! that! “philosophic! basil”! of! the! “dry!way”! that,! like! a!thunderbolt,!a!blow,!burns!every!“imperfect!metal”,!of!which!Crollio!speaks!(Basilica"Chymica,!Frankfurt,!1609,!p.!94)!and!to!the!“serpentine!heat”!of!the!kundalini!of!tantric!yoga.!19!! Consequently,!the!“fear!of!God”!defines!every!consistent!religion,!the!opposite!of!magic.!



names,!of!all!mental!and!cardiac!exteriority!vanishes,!falls!away.!A!great!dawn!arises,!a!higher!levity20;!in!the!middle,!a!body!woven!of!naked!light21;!then,!slowly,!a!new!transformed!world,!“no!longer!stained!by!spirit”.! Still!more! in! depth,! the! “heavens! collapse”! and! the! primordial! tragedy! of! a! burning! chaos! is!revealed,!in!which,!in!a!flash,!the!peak!of!absolute!possession!is!caught,!which!is!the!power!of!affirmation!and!negation.!

! Something!needs!to!be!said!to!make!clear!the!directions!of!the!initiatic!method.!

First! of! all,! there! is! the! error! of! those!who,! in! this! field,! centre! themselves! on!methods! of!knowledge!and!contemplation.!If!the!objective!world!has!roots! in!a!power!that!suffers! itself,!that! leaves!and!abandons!itself!and!makes!itself!external!to!itself,!then!this!decadent!direction!in!contemplation!does!not! have! its! resolution,! but! its! final! affirmation.! In! the!man!who! contemplates,!who,! detached! from!everything,!is!pure!knowing,!pure!eye,!pure!transparency,!there!is!the!complete!victory!of!the!Apollonian!illusion,!the!limit!of!abstraction!and!failing!that,!if!truly!realized,!would!completely!extinguish!being!in!an!absolute!nothingness22.!The!true!method!consists! instead! in!slowly!and! inflexibly! leading!the!“I”!back!to!the!centre!of!power!from!which!it!moved!away,!to!make!it!an!absolute"and"sufficient"immanence!that!no!longer!leaves!any!place!to!watch,!contemplate,!or!love!but!only!to!BE,!in!dreadful!purity.!Therefore:!not!to!free!or!empty!oneself!from!things,!but!to!use!them!and!support"them,!to!sink!oneself! into!them,!to!will!them!absolutely!and!to!then!bring!this!willing!to!exceed!itself.!This!is!true!“liberation”,!the!liberation!that!leaves!nothing!leftover.!The!other!instead!is!not!liberation!but!evasion!and!escape,!it!is!the!limit"point!of!being!anxious,!of!being!afraid,!of!suffering.!

! “To!will!absolutely!and!to!then!bring!the!willing!to!exceed!itself”!–!in!that!there!is!a!moment!of!crisis!and!collapse!for!every!form!and!every! law.!From!here!the!accusation!of!a!second!equivocation:!to!think!that!in!the!life!of!initiation!there!is!in!general!something!that!can!be!respected!–!in!particular:!that!every!morality!has!another!value!outside!that!of!a!discipline!to!make!itself!more!hardened,!hard,!master!of! the! self!and!yet!every!more! immoral! (that! is,!capable!of!doing! something!decisively!without! fear!or!remorse).!Hence!the!connexion!to!what!was!said!at!the!beginning!about!the!nature!of!positive!freedom:!it!is!to!shatter!and!surpass!not!so!much!the!outer!law,!but!rather!the!inner!law,!it!is!to!kill!not!the!fetish"God!of!the!temples!but!the!“God!in!us”,!the!“conscience”,!the!“moral”!and!“spiritual”!law.!Therefore,!whoever!stops!at!a!“holy”!and!a!“human”!thing,!whoever!recognizes!imperative!ethics,!whoever!wanders!onto!the!cosmic!hierarchy!and!the!kingdom!of!the!gods!and!angels,!knows!that!he!is!still!a!slave!of!Apollo,!and!that!he"fears,! like! it!or!not,!that!his! limit! is!not!that!of!theurgy!but!that!of!religion.! It! is!necessary! instead!to!unchain!himself!and!remove!from!himself!every!terra!firma!under!his!feet.!It!is!the!final!task!of!Hercules:!to!raise!Antaeus!–!the!son!of!the!Earth!–!up!from!the!“earth”!(a!well!known!initiatic!symbol)!and!strangle!him.!Then! it!will!be!understood!why!at! the!beginning!of!every!high! initiation! the!presupposition!of!an!unprovidential!conception!of!existence!is!prescribed!as!the!defining!character,!that!is,!the!sense!of!a!free!existence,!naked,!not!needing!any!support!–!reasons,!conditions,!causes,! justice,!goals!–!an!existence! in!which!an! identical!power!of!yes!and!no! is!reflected,! in!elation,!a!point!that!redeems!the!chaos!and!the!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!20!! Experience!of!“air”.!21!! The!“gigantic!or!celestial!man”!seen!from!a!“high!mountain”,!whose!voice!is!thunder,!which!the!“Gospel!of!Eve”!speaks!about.!The!logion!that!refers!to!it!from!the!text!is!“I!am!you!and!you!are!me;!and!wherever!you!are,!I!am.!I! am! scattered! among! beings,! and!wherever! you!want,! you! gather!me.! And! gathering!me,! you! gather! yourself.”!(Epiphanes,!Haeres,!XXVI,!3).!22!! I!suggested! the! relationship!of! the! term!Apollo!with!“apollumi”,!a!Greek!word! that!means!“to!extinguish!oneself”,!to!die.!



irrational! in! an! indomitable! will,! in!magical! freedom! –! since! the! “I”! interiorises! this! chaos,! there! it!recognizes!itself!and!wills!it!endlessly.!

! How!not!to!see!that!in!cruelty!and!in!evil!the!highest!discipline?!Again!in!Nietzsche!we!find!said!loudly!what!for!millennia!was!heard!only!from!the!mouth!to!the!ear!in!the!most!closed!circles!of!the!most!closed! initiations.!Dionysus!reveals!himself! in!moments!of!crisis!and!collapse!of!the! laws,! in!moments!of!guilt:!it!is!then!that!ecstasy!occurs,!it!is!then!that!the!Apollonian!veto!rips!itself!open!and,!put!in!the!face!of!a!primordial!force,!man!plays!the!part!of!his!eternal!ruin!or!of!his!making!himself!superior!to! life!and!death.!

! In!connexion!with!that,!we!are!therefore!not!afraid!to!call!the!crime!(in!the!sense!of!the!German!“verbrechen”!–!“ver”!is!the!intensification!of!“brechen”!""!to!break)!action"for"excellence.!The!misdeed,!the!infringement!of!order!is!a!necessity!for!whoever!yearns!for!titanic!power.!That,!certainly,!not!operational!in!the!succumbing!being,!who!in!himself,!as!an!unfortunate!thing!of!the!outer!world,!represents!nothing,!although! in!as!much!as! it! is! felt! that!such!a!being! is"myself!so! that! the!act! is!experienced!as!cruelty"of"myself"over"myself,!as!an!infraction!of!my!fundamental!inner!law.!When!man!willed!to!become!God!–!says!Novalis23!–!he!sinned.!But!the!act!can!continue!to!be!called!unholy!insofar!as!it!is!an!act!which!one!is!afraid!of,!that!is!not!felt!to!be!able!to!be!taken!on!absolutely,!so!that!one!falls!short!of!what!we!unconsciously!play!as!something!too!strong!for!us:!but!an!active,!positive,!willed!guilt,!a!guilt!that!“stands!firm”,! is!no!longer!from!men,!it!is!from!the!gods.!

! Here! the! occult!meaning! of! the! sacrificial! rites! is! revealed.! Think! of!what! peak! had! to! have!flashed! in!the!sacrificer,!for!whom!the!victim24!was!not!simply!himself,!but!the!very!Divinity,!and!yet!his!terrible!sacrilegious!act!had!to!pull!the!Divinity!down!so!that,!superior!to!the!curse!and!the!disaster,!in!him!–!and!in!the!community!that!magically!converged!in!him!–!he!was!liberated!and!passed!the!absolute!!And!so!even! the! suicide!–!we! recall!Kirilov! in!Dostoyevsky’s! “The!Possessed”–! can! incorporate! this! value! if!metaphysical"self!cruelty25!and,!with!it,!everything!that!is!conscious!and!reasoned!corruption.!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!23!! Novalis,!Schriften,!ed.!Heilborn,!v.!II,!p.!650!24!! A!completion!of!the!meaning!is!connected!to!the!purity!and!the!required!innocence!of!the!human!being!to!be! sacrificed.! It! is! known! that! in! the!Mithraic!mysteries! the! capacity! to! kill! or,! at! least,! to! assist! at! a! homicide!constituted! a! test:! See! F.! Cumont,! The"Mysteries" of"Mithras.! The! rite! of! human! sacrifice! according! to! the! tragic!meaning! then! formed!a!central!point! in! the! initiation! into!Kali,! the!black!divinity!of! the!shakta.!One!could!develop!interesting!observations!on!the!word!“black”.!It!is!often!symbolic!of!everything!that!is!evil,!but!in!the!esoteric!it!also!expresses!the!hidden!side!of!metaphysical!powers,!that!is,!their!pure!state,!hierarchically!anterior!to!everything!that!is!a!particular!manifestation!(in!the!Kabbalistic!tradition!the!“black! letters”!express!precisely!the!elemental!powers,!of!which!the!“letters!of!light”!are!the!manifestations):!!almost!that!this!agreement!reflects!the!violative!act!of!the!laws!that!rule!the!creatural!order!with!the!nature!of!the!deepest!point.!Another!interesting!observation:!given!the!concept!of!God!as!the!one!who! is! identical!to!himself,!from!the! identity!of!myself!with!others,! love!and!compassion!follow;!given!instead!the!magical!concept!of!God!as!the!one!who!is!not!identical,!but!different!from!and!master!of!himself,!from!this!identity!a!principal!of!cruelty,!tension,!domination!follows!instead.!25!! Kirolov’s!reasoning!is!the!following:!God!is!necessary,!therefore!he!must!exist.!But!I!know!that!He!does!not!exist!and!cannot!exist.!But!if!God!does!not!exist,!I!myself!must!be!God!since!otherwise!suicide!would!be!lacking,!the!whole!crashing!into!the!void!–!and!in!fact,!men!in!the!whole!history!of!the!world!have!not!done!other!than!to"invent"God" in"order" to"be"able" to" live"without"committing"suicide!since!on! the!other!hand,! they!were! fearful!of!assuming!divinity.!! But!I,!the!first!in!history,!do!not!want!to!accept!the!deceit,!I!don’t!want!to!invent!God.!I!am!therefore!held!to!manifest! my! divinity.! Now! the! attribute! of! my! divinity! is:! my! will,! everything! with! which! I! can! show! my!insubordination!and!my!new!and!dreadful!freedom!to!his!main!point.!Suicide!is!such!a!culmination.!Whoever!dares!to!commit!suicide,!has!discovered!the!secret.!Outside!of!that,!no!freedom:!everything!is!there,!the!rest!is!nothing.!And!I!kill!myself!to!prove!God.!A!sole!thing!is!opposed!to!that:!fear.!Fear!ties!man!to!this!miserable!world!and!impedes!him!



! Such! values! find! a! final! exaltation! in! a!more! subtle! and! interior! order.! Here! they! can! graft!themselves!onto!the!discipline!of!mortification,!humility,!etc.26!until!the!sphere!of!esoteric!work!properly!so!called!is!reached.!

! Here! the! task!becomes!absolutely"positive.!Here! there! is!no! longer!a!place! for!anything! that! is!mental,! emotive,! “spiritual”! even! for! those! extreme! limits! of! such! elements!which!we! have! just! now!spoken!about.!Instead,!it!is!matter!of!something!entirely!real!–!we!would!almost!say:!something!surgical.!The!abstraction!from!the!form,!for!example,!becomes!something!inherent!in!the!power!of!“seeing!without!sight”,!of!abolishing!–!by!means!of!samyama!and!Samadhi!–!that!limit!and!that!support!that!the!image!of!a!thing!represents!in!order!to!be!put!fearlessly!in!direct!relationship!with!abysmal,!bottomless!existences!that!constitute!their!real!nature27.!The!tragic!act!of!sacrificing!becomes!the!kevala"kumbhaka!of!kundalini!yoga,!that!is,!the!practice!whereby!organic!life!itself!in!its!root!(prana)!is!withdrawn!from!every!support,!suspended,!burned!up,!overturned,!dragged!away!beyond!itself!along!the!“Royal!Way”!of!sushumna,!the!“devourer!of!time”.!

! And!now!that!chaos!is!going!to!shine!through!a!supernal!light,!that!the!“I”!takes!possession!of!the!“three!kingdoms”,!having!become!not!God,!but!the!Lord!and!surpasser!of!God.!

! And!the!“Being!that!is!that!which!wills”,!near!deserts!and!suns!of!horror!may!at!last!let!goodness,!order,! love!bloom!as! the!ultimate!excess,!as! the! transgression!–!and,! in! that,! the!supreme!assertion!of!Dionysus!–!of!his!terrible!nature.!

! !

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!from!being!what!he!will!be.!The!one!who!will!be!indifferent!to!living!or!not,!who!will!kill!himself!not"through"fear"but"to"kill"fear,!that!will!be!the!new!man!and!God!himself.!And!God!up!there!(that!is!the!invented!God)!will!no!longer!be!and!there!will!be!a!new!life,!a!new!world!–!everything!will!be!new!and!history!of!the!world!will!be!divided!into!two!parts:!from!the!gorilla!to!the!murder!of!God!and!from!the!murder!of!God!to!the!physical!transformation!of!man!and!earth.!26!! See!Evola,!Saggi"sull’idealismo"magico,!p!97.!27!! And!analogously:! to!act!without!acting,! to!arrive!without!movement,! to! take!without! touching,!etc.! It! is!about!modes!of!sensation!and!pure!activity,!disengaged,!tasks!of!particular!occult!disciplines.!

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